


God Bless Kappa Mu

by skipperr98



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - College/University, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Romance, sorority au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-11-04 05:18:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 90,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10984161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skipperr98/pseuds/skipperr98
Summary: Lili Zwingli is a first year college student with a lot on her plate. She's trying to make the Dean's List, she's pledged into the prestigious and busy Kappa Mu sorority with her roommate Sophia, she's dating her first boyfriend Emil, all while helping said roommate and pay for their expensive dues by selling dorm made moonshine...She's got a lot to learn and even more to experience.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey this is my first AO3 story, actually I'm writing it on FF.Net too, but I figured a lot of people use this now. I honestly feel like an old man using an iPhone with AO3, but I'm trying to be hip lol. But I'll continue to upload them simultaneously so no one misses anything. But here's my original A/N Note:
> 
> It's gonna go really slow, but the chapters are pretty meaty I guess. It's my first time dealing with a sorority and writing about a lot of things that aren't really my cup of tea, but I got this idea from the whisper app, where a girl makes bathtub moonshine to pay for her sorority dues, which are crazy expensive according to research and everything. So I always ask that you review and ask questions if need be. Thanks again, and happy reading!

Western University wasn't exactly the university Lili was hoping for, but, her brother liked it for her. A private school, third in the nation, and a high graduation rate. Perfect for Lili, according to him. Lili on the other hand, was just concerned about making friends, having a good year, and slowly easing her way towards her goal of being a marine biologist.

Vash looked around her room. "Alright, your room is all set Lili. Now I'm only three hours away, call me if you need anything. If you do good this semester, I'll let you have the car next semester. Don't talk to strangers, make friends, don't gain weight, and make sure you eat. Study hard, and get good sleep. No drinking, no drugs, no boys."

Lili nodded, taking in all she could from her brother. "I got it. I'll make you proud Vash, I promise."

Vash nodded and turned to leave. Quickly, Lili grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. "I'll miss you."

Vash sighed quietly as he hugged his sister tightly. "I'll be back in September for family weekend." He pulled away and kissed her forehead. "I'm heading out now. I'll call you when I make it back home." He said.

"Okay, I'll see you soon." She said waving as he headed out the door. Once the door was closed, a rush of excitement ran over her. Finally, she had been alone and on her own. Of course, she loved her big brother, but sometimes being under his wing all the time could get tiring. After all, she was eighteen and in college, it was time to adventure and dabble into the unknown.

Lili sat at her desk, and looked at the things her Residence Assistant had given her. A 'Western U' cup, some information about studying abroad, some coupons at some of the restaurants on campus and on the book store, a "Getting-To-Know-You" information sheet, and a reminder for tonight's hall meeting at eight. She looked at her phone, a text from her new roommate.

_'Hey, it's a lot of traffic where I'm coming from, I probably won't be there until another 30-45 minutes.'_

She frowned some. She was really looking forward to seeing Sophia sooner, but then again, she supposed it would give her time to do some exploring on her own.

She replied, _'It's okay. I'm going to do a little exploring myself before you get here. If I'm not in the room by the time you're here, just call me so I can help move you in._ '

With that, Lili grabbed her jacket and headed out to the quad. She looked around, it was such beautiful campus. It was already abuzz with students moving in, some were laying out on the front lawn, swinging in camping hammocks, and others were just simply trying to get around. She smiled some, it may not have been her first choice, but she really looked forward to her freshman year here.

"I'm trying to tell you, we're on the right side of campus, trust me." She heard a voice speak.

"I'm pretty sure Chester hall is on the other side of campus. You just don't know how to read a map."

"Oh says the person that got us lost in our _own_ neighborhood."

"Would you two _please_ stop arguing for five seconds?"

Lili gave a polite smile and wave. "Uh, hi, actually he's right, Chester hall is over there, right next to McCall hall, that's where I live. You're not far at all." She spoke as she pointed to the two separate halls.

The younger one, the one she assumed was the student, smiled. "Thank you so very much. I told you we were on the right side of campus."

"Okay, maybe you were right, you don't have to rub it in." The older man said.

The shorter man sighed quietly. "Mathias, could you just, please go get the car. And _don't_ get lost."

The older man, now named Mathias walked away, grumbling something under his breath.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm Lukas, this is my brother Emil. He's starting his first year here."

"You don't have to introduce me like I'm a toddler." He muttered.

Lili giggled. "I think it's sweet. My brother would have done the same thing for me. I'm Lili, nice to meet you all." She said and shook both of their hands.

"See? She thinks it's sweet. I understand you're an adult, but you're also very shy, and you need to make friends so you won't be lonely. Can't your older brother do at least that for you?"

"No." Emil said flatly.

Lukas rolled his eyes. "Fine. Make your own friends from now on. But keep Lili, I like her."

The German girl smiled weakly. "Well if it makes you feel better, you'd be my first friend on campus too."

"See? So much in common already." Lukas said jumping when he heard a horn honk behind him. He whipped around in anger, seeing his husband pulling up with a move-in truck, and car attached to the back. "Would you stop causing so much attention? It already looks stupid that we have to have this stupid truck!" Lukas screamed at him.

Emil sighed turning back to Lili as they continued to argue. "I should get going, the sooner I move in, the sooner these two can go home and argue in private."

Lili smiled some. "That's fine. We should meet up again before the night ends."

"Sounds great. Here, take my number down." He said.

Lili pulled out her phone and took his number down, and he did the same for her.

"Emil, hop in the truck, we found a spot!" Lukas yelled.

"Coming! Nice meeting you again Lili, I'll look forward to seeing you again." He said and waved at her some before heading over to the move-in truck.

Lili felt relieved, her first friend. She hoped they went far in friendship. She really liked him, and it wasn't because she thought he was cute...okay maybe a little.

"Kappa Mu! Kappa Mu! Kappa Mu for you! Kappa Mu! Kappa Mu! Kappa Mu for us! Kappa Mu! Kappa Mu: In God we Trust!"

Lili looked across the yard, finding a group of girls dressed in the same t-shirt screaming and crowding around each other. She shook her head. Sorority girls, she never thought she'd join a Greek organization, they didn't seem all that interesting to her really. But, maybe later in her college career, she'd consider it. People usually joined Greek Organizations for the feel of belonging, and connections around campus. But, of course it depends on the person. Lili continued to watch as they took pictures in front of the tall, black and white 'KM' with their hand symbol.

"Who rocks this yard?!"

"Zetas rock this yard!"

"And _who_ rocks it hard?!"

"Zeta rocks it hard! Zeta Nu! Zeta Nu! In our hearts forever true!"

There was another call. One girl seemed to be leading it, a beautiful girl with brown curly hair. She looked oddly familiar though...She wondered where she had seen her before.

"We've been here first and we'll be here last! Delta girls are the ones with class! If you don't think that it's not true, then you _must_ not be wearing _our_ pink and blue!"

Lili smiled some, she was kind of feeling it. The sense of belonging seemed nice. Having girls be apart of you, calling each other sisters.

"Beta girls know they rule the yard! And Beta girls know they rule it hard! Don't believe us? Don't think it's true? Just ask the guys at Sigma Nu!"

'Maybe they're co-organizations? Does that even exist?" She asked herself.

"I love my ATE, I live for my ATE! If there wasn't an ATE, then there would be no ME!"

Lili blinked. These girls really took this stuff seriously, but she understood, sort of. Being in a sorority was important to them, and when you're passionate about something, you live for it. Similar to her interest in Marine Biology. She lived for it, and she was so glad this school offered it. She hoped to go into the school of marine life sooner than later. She was willing to work her butt off and make her GPA shine, Dean's List every semester. Her phone had rang in her pocket, she pulled it out, finding her roommate calling her. She squealed excitedly and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Lili? It's Sophie, I'm pulling up to campus right now, are you in the room?"

"No, I'm around on the quad and front lawn. I'm heading back to the dorm now."

"Okay! I can't wait to see you!"

"Me either. I'll see you in a minute!" She said and hung up the phone, racing back to the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be posting a lot pretty quickly to match how many chapters are on FF.Net But other than that, happy reading!

Lili excitedly ran back upstairs to her room, and unlocked the door. She was so nervous, she had never shared a room with someone before, so she hoped she wouldn't be too much of a nuisance to Sophia. She always cleaned up after herself, didn't mind company, and loved to make conversation once she got past that shy stage of meeting someone new.

She went to look at herself in the bathroom mirror and sighed quietly. "She's going to like you. You're practically best friends with her already." Lili told herself in the mirror before hearing a knock at the door. Lili went over and pulled it open and squealed excitedly, hugging her tightly. "I can't believe you're here! I'm so glad you made it safe!"

Sophia laughed as she held her just as tightly. "I'm so glad to be here, and I'm so glad to finally meet you! Those Facetime calls helped a lot." She laughing.

Lili sighed of relief, pushing her hair back and giggling. She was much prettier in person. Brown hair in a loose bun, and brown eyes to match. She had a nice, calming smile, and seemed to radiate energy.

"Hate to break up the meeting party, but you still have more stuff to get out of the car Sophie." A tall man spoke as he walked in with a tote.

"Oh would you give it a rest Charlie? We just met, we're going to be spending the school year together, can't we just scream about how excited we are to see each other for a little bit longer?" She asked.

"Nope, don't think so. I loaded everything up, you're helping take everything out."

"Alright, alright fine. We'll just bond over moving in." Sophia said nudging Lili some.

Lili nodded with a smile. "Yes, bonding over moving in sounds just fine."

.

.

.

"So if we put the fridge under the bed, it'll be more room for the totes on the side."

"If you want you could slide your dresser under there too, since you won't really need the surface, you've got this shelf organizer here to put your trinkets and pictures and stuff."

"Oh good thinking Lili." Sophia said moving the dresser under the bed, then her fridge. Perfect.

She looked around the room, and nodded. "As an art major I must say our room is very spectacular." She said.

Lili grinned. "Super spectacular. Absolutely astounding." She agreed.

Sophia sat at her desk. "So, have you met anyone since you've been here? Any friends any familiar faces?" She spoke as she went through the things her RA gave her.

"Not really...Well there's one guy." She said thinking about Emil.

"Oh a guy?" She asked looking back.

"No, no it's not anything like that. He's a nice guy though. His name is Emil, he stays over in Chester hall. I helped him with some directions."

"Oh. Well hey, that's a pretty practical way to meet someone."

"I mean I guess." She said as she looked at the incoming message on her phone. "Oh, speak of the devil." She said and opened up the message on her phone.

_Hey, my brother just left, you want to go get something to eat?_

"What?"

"He just text me if I wanted to get something to eat but our hall meeting is soon." She said and looked at the clock on her phone. "Actually in a couple of minutes."

"Oh yeah. Okay. Well tell him I'm coming too. I'm starving. And plus I want to meet him, I'd also like a first friend in college."

"Sure that would be nice. I'll tell him." She said and texted him back. ' _Sure that sounds great but can you hold off for about 15 minutes? We have a hall meeting in five minutes. And also my roommate came so she's coming to get something to eat with us.'_ With that, she put her phone in her pocket. "Okay, let's go." She said and went out the door with Sophia behind her.

Lili and Sophia stepped out of their room, and into the hallway, where they found other girls already waiting outside the Residence Assistance's dorm room. Lili looked at the time. She hoped this wouldn't take long, she was getting kind of hungry herself.

Soon a girl with brown hair and green eyes stepped out of her dorm room. She smiled at the girls already at the meeting. "Hi everyone, I'll wait for a couple of minutes for anyone else lagging behind. In the meantime, pass around this sign in sheet." She said.

Lili blinked, that was the girl. The girl that was leading the sorority call. "Ah, excuse me. Are you in one of those sororities? I think I saw you out on the front lawn." She said.

The girl turned around to her and nodded. "I'm a Zeta." She said smiling at her.

Sophia suddenly brightened. "You're in a sorority? Will you be around during rush week?" She asked.

"Of course, but not as much as I'd want to. I've got some shifts to cover this week that take place during rush and no one can take them." She said with a shrug and looked down the hall, finding a couple of girls coming down the hall.

"Okay, I'm gonna start since I'm going to assume this is everyone. Good evening ladies, and welcome to Western U, and welcome to McCall hall, I'll be your RA this year. My name is Elizabeta Hedervary, and I'm so very excited to be your RA this year." She spoke and looked at the clipboard in her hand. "So I'm just going to go over some rules, and make them quick, I'm sure you guys have a busy night ahead of you. Keep the noise down. We have "Quiet Hours" starting at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 12 a.m on the weekends. Everyone is limited to two guests at a time in their room, making a maximum of four guests in your room at one time. No alcoholic beverages or drug paraphernalia in your room, if I catch you I'll have to report you and it will be dealt with Upper Housing. We have room inspections, I'll remind you twenty-four hours in advance. If your room is not up to par then at least we'll fine you, but if it's anything serious or if it's repeated failures, again it will be dealt with Upper Housing."

"If you have problems with your roommate and can't solve them yourselves, I am here to help you." She said and pointed at her dry erase board on her door. The board had various locations written on it. "This is a pretty good indicator of where I usually am. I update it regularly. Uh, that's it for rules. Respect me, respect your roommate, and respect those living on this hall. We're all a family. And now just a few quick announcements…" She said and flipped the paper over to the next paper.

"Welcome Week is now in session, and will be leading up to Tarp Day. Monday there will be a cookout hosted by the Intramurals Club between 12 and 3 on the front lawn. Tuesday will be a stress reliever seminar hosted by Western U's Positive Thoughts Club in the ballrooms from 1 to 3. Wednesday will be a Poetry Slam at 8 p.m in the Union Auditorium hosted by the Xpression of Poetry Club. Thursday will be Glow in the Dark Yoga in the Campus Rec at 8 o'clock. And of course, Friday is Tarp Day. Tarp Day is pretty much like a club fair, where every club will fill up all of the front lawn. That is going to be where you show interest in clubs and look at the different clubs you can join. Great to go to, you get a lot of free things, and food, and who doesn't love free things and food? And lastly, who here is going to be participating in rush week?"

Sophia and a few other girls on the hall raised their hands.

"Open house will begin at 10 A.M tomorrow in the ballrooms, which are located on the 3rd floor at the Student Union. You'll get your name tags and things like that there. It's not too late to sign up. If you still want to participate you can, however there will be a registration fee and late fee applied to it. Turn in your application before 12 midnight and you'll be good to go. That's about it. I've got everything down on my list. So, meeting adjourned, have a good night ladies." She said with a smile as she collected the sign in sheet and went back into her room.

Sophia squealed. "I'm so excited for rush week. Are you rushing?" She asked looking at Lili.

"What? Oh no, I don't think Greek life is for me too much." She said walking back into their room.

Sophia walked in after her. "You're not going to rush? Just try it, it'll be fun. I'm sure the fees aren't too much. It was fifty dollars when I signed up in advanced."

"I don't know…"

"Well you've got a couple of hours to mull it over before registration closes."

"Yeah, I'll think about it." She spoke and looked at her phone, seeing that she got a text from Emil.

_Okay, just call me when you're out of your meeting._

Right after that she called him.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's Lili, we're out of our meeting. You want to just meet us at the union?"

"Uh, sure that's fine. I'll meet you guys in a couple of minutes."

"Alright, we'll see you then." She said and hung up the phone, looking over at Sophia and grabbing her jacket. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

* * *

"Hey Emil. Good seeing you again." Lili said hugging him. "Did your move in go well?"

"As good as it could go with a brother like mine." He said shaking his head.

Lili giggled. "I still like Lukas, he's nice."

"Well _you_ never grew up with him."

"I suppose it's a bit of a difference then, huh? Oh and by the way, this is my roommate Sophia." Lili said stepping aside so they could meet properly.

"Hey nice to meet you." Emil said shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Sophia said smiling at him.

Lili smiled herself. She was glad to have two friends now. It was a step in the right direction. "What are we eating? I can't remember the last time I ate."

"I am really in the mood for a burrito." Sophia said.

"Hm, a burrito sounds good." Lili said next.

"Burritos it is." Emil decided.

.

.

.

"So how are you guys adjusting to campus?" Emil said as he slid into the booth.

"I'm doing pretty good. I'm so, so excited for rush week." Sophia said and slid into the other side.

Lili slid in on the other side. "You didn't tell me that you were into Greek Life when we talked over the phone. I'm surprised you're into it."

"Well I didn't want to freak you out with the Greek talk. I had to lock you in as my roommate before I started geeking out about it. I've been wanting to rush since I've been in high school. I want to do this so badly."

"What sorority do you want to rush?" Emil asked.

"Kappa Mu, definitely. I would be so heart broken if they didn't chose me on bid day. Lili if you choose to rush I would love if you did KM with me. Then we'd really be sisters."

"Still thinking about it, but if I go with it I'll make sure to do it with you. Emil are you rushing?"

"Me rush? No thanks, I don't want any more brothers, one and a half is enough." He said shaking his head. "But of course, if you two are rushing then I would be happy to support."

"Well I'm still thinking about it, but I did see them on the lawn today cheering."

"They were chanting and I missed it? I can't believe I missed it! Ugh, I guess I'll have to wait until I see them during the week." Sophia said. "Which one did the Kappas do?"

"Which one? Uh, they said something about in God we trust?"

"Kappa Mu for you, Kappa Mu for us, Kappa Mu, in God we trust?" She asked.

"Yes that one. Well a little more exciting than that, but that was it."

"I love that one. Lili I really hope you do this with me, and even if you don't want to pledge KM, I'd still want you to be a sister somewhere."

"Well I did like the cheering, it was cute. It kind of grew on me, but I still don't know…"

"You'll make the right decision Lili, whatever you go with will be best for you." Emil said smiling at her.

* * *

11 p.m. Lili sat in her bed with the rush week application pulled up on her laptop. Sophia was in the shower. Slowly, she started filling out the information, smiling some as she did. For Lili, it was always getting past fear of failure. Not everyone gets bid on at the end of the week, and what if she was one of them? But with Vash forcing her to do so much, and for her to actually enjoy the things he forced her to be in, maybe picking this for herself could really impact her. Maybe this will be the decision to change her, change her for the better.

But for now, the $125 she spent on registration and late fees had _better_ been worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and kudos (still don't know how that works) and see you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3, which is the entering of rush week. I'm not going to do a full rush week, just two days instead of a full week. Mostly because I couldn't really think of how the rest of rush week would play out, I'm not even doing all the sororities that chanted in the first chapter. They were just filler sororities pretty much. So from here on out will be just ZN and KM. Happy Reading!

"Lili, wake up! Today's the day!" Sophia said shaking her.

Lili rolled over. "Just five more minutes Vash I'm tired." She muttered.

"I'm not your brother! Wake up." She said shaking her more before huffing. "Fine have it your way, I'm showering first." She said and slipped into their shared bathroom.

.

.

.

"Last name please?"

"Zwingli."

The woman looked around on the table before picking up a hanging name tag and handing it to her. "Here you go. You're in group number 4." She told her.

"Thank you." She spoke and put the name tag around her neck.

"Hey, what group are you in?" Sophia asked.

"Uh, group 4."

"Oh shoot, I'm in group 5." She said frowning. "But it's fine. I'll see you during breaks and stuff. Have fun, and thanks for doing this with me." She spoke and hugged her and looking at her. "I'm glad I got you to do this. Like I'm really happy you chose to do it, and I feel so much better knowing I won't be alone doing it."

Lili looked at Sophia, a slow smile coming to her face. She wouldn't be alone going through rush week, and neither would Lili now. It was already turning out to be worth it. "Of course, what are friends for? Have fun on your tour."

"Group 4! Ladies of group 4!"

"Oh that's me. I have to go. Good luck!" Lili said before waving at her and going over her group.

Elizabeta looked around, seeing if everyone was there. It was supposed to be a group of twenty. She quickly counted off, counting twenty exactly. "Alright great, we've got everyone." She said to herself before smiling and waving at her group of girls. "Good morning ladies, I'm Lizzie, I'll be your Rho Chi for rush week. However, I'm also an RA, and I have a shift, so I won't be here for round two. But your group will combine with group 5, whose Rho Chi is Lien." She explained. "First house we'll be going to is Delta Phi Pi."

* * *

Lili was amazed at how nice these houses looked. There wasn't a single house that wasn't a mansion. One house at the end of the street was absolutely huge. The Delta house was big too, she liked the look of it. Their group walked up to the house, where they were greeted by two girls outside the doors.

"Hello ladies, and welcome to the home of the dazzling Delta Phi Pi women. Delta Phi Pi was founded in 1915 on Briarwood College campus, and the awesome Alpha Kappa chapter was the _first_ Greek org founded here on Western University in 1933." One girl started.

"Our chapter alone has over 200 ladies and we show our pride by wearing our blushing pink and baby blue colors. DeePhiPi's founding principals are diligence, sisterhood, service, and equality, and our motto is 'For our Sisters.' And now, the ladies of the dazzling Delta Phi Pi Alpha Kappa chapter." With that, the two girls opened their doors and girls were lined up filling the doorway.

"DeePhiPi! DeePhiPi! That's where our love and loyalty lies! We love our sisters, and our chapter too! Our door is always open, to girls like you! We'll be here 'till the day we die, so come join our DeePhiPi!" The girls sung in unison, and clapped together as one. Lili had been impressed with the song. As soon as they were invited in, the sorority girls had started collecting girls from the group. One had pulled Lili to the side and gave her a polite handshake. "Hi, I'm Dahlia, what's your name?"

"Llil. Nice to meet you Dahlia." Llili said politely. She had only spoken to her for a couple of minutes, and then she met Lainey. After Lainey, it was Janice. And after Janice, it was Elle. It had moved so fast, and she felt like she was speed dating sorority style. But the girls were nice, and they all said that they loved being apart of the Delta Phi Pi sisterhood.

Lili had sat watched as a girl had went up to the front of the room and wave. "Ladies if I could have your attention please?" She called over the small talk occurring. "First off I'd like to introduce myself. I am Marguerite Quinn, rush chair of DeePhiPi, thank you for coming to visit our home, we hope to see you again for round two tomorrow. We also hope to see you as a new member of DeePhiPi soon as well. Have a great day!" With that she dismissed the group and they headed out the door.

"Next open house we're visiting is Kappa Mu." Elizabeta announced and marched onward their house. Llil was actually a tad bit nervous but excited for this open house. She wanted to see what the fuss was about with Kappa Mu that Sophia loved so much. As they walked on, she saw that they had been passing the Zeta Nu house. That was the sorority Elizabeta was in. It was definitely not as big as any of the houses on the sorority row, but it was still a mansion none the less. Not big with columns and fancy doors, but it was still huge in comparison to a simple home. Maybe it was a small sorority. However, the house that they were heading to was the biggest house on the row. The Kappa Mu house. Her mystery had been solved, and she was surprised that their house was so big. They must have did a lot on campus. The Kappa house made the Zeta house look like a cottage.

When they arrived at the doors, they were once again greeted with two girls.

"Good morning ladies! Welcome to the fabulous Kappa Mu house. Kappa Mu was founded in 1895 on Aleshire Women's College campus. And the gracious Gamma Tau chapter was founded on West U in 1951. Our colors are black and white, to show the simplicity in beauty. Our principles are service, sisterhood, scholarship, and integrity. Lastly, our motto is 'God Bless Kappa Mu.'"

"With having over 400 girls here at Kappa Mu, we are the biggest sorority on campus. We love each other very much and wouldn't trade one another for anything. We hope to find you here at the end of the week. And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the captivating ladies of Kappa Mu Gamma Tau chapter!" And with that, the doors swung open, and it was a new group of girls had greeted them with a cheer.

"Kappa Mu is here, and here to stay! Our chapter prez keeps us at bay! We work real hard, and gain in bounds! And in Kappa Mu, we all wear crowns! Our principles are all a must! God Bless Kappa Mu, in God we trust!"

And soon, a basic repeat happened to their group. They were welcomed in, and taken to be talked to. Lili met more girls. Anna, Elizabeth, and Mia, but the last one stood out to her for some reason.

"Hi I'm Camille, and you are?"

"I'm Lili. Nice to meet you Camille." Camille had long brown hair braided up, and she wore square glasses that magnified her blue eyes. She was certainly a beautiful girl.

"Lili, what a pretty name. So what brings you to rush week?" She asked.

"Um, actually I hadn't thought about rushing, but I thought that this change could benefit me in coming out of my shy shell and gaining more confidence in myself." She spoke honestly.

Camille put her hand under her chin, nodding as Lili talked. "That's good. I was very shy my freshman year as well. But, being apart of Kappa Mu has made me very confident, and outgoing and fearless in getting the things that I want."

Lili smiled. "How long have you been in Kappa Mu?"

"I pledged my freshman year, and I've been here ever since."

"Oh that's a long time to be in a sorority and seeing different faces I'm sure as well. Do you all do a lot of work? The house certainly shows for it."

"Yes of course we do. We have so many girls over different systems, and different events to help coordinate them accordingly. Kappa Mu is filled with so much philanthropy and goodwill. In return of that we do have very lovely bonding trips that we are rewarded with."

The German girl smiled. "That is good, really good. If it's one thing I love it's being apart of something that gives back."

"And if it's one thing that Kappa Mu does, it's give back."

"Alright ladies if I can just have your attention….Good afternoon everyone, I am Lisa Washington, rush chair for Kappa Mu. This will conclude our round one, thank you all for coming, and we can't wait to see you tomorrow for house tours. Enjoy your break!"

With that, Elizabeta quickly rounded up her group and led them out. "Okay, so right now is break time, so we're heading back to the auditorium for lunch and other snacks." She spoke as she led her group back.

* * *

"So how was it?" Sophia asked when she sat down next to Lili.

Lili shrugged opening her chips. "It's been nice so far. I've only seen the Delta house and the Kappa house."

"You went to the Kappa house already? We're going there after break. How was it? Is it pretty?"

"Yeah, it's the biggest house on sorority row. This girl Camille told me that they earned it from doing all of the work they do."

"You talked to Camille? As in Camille Grimaldi?"

"I don't know her last name—"

"Brown hair, blue eyes, glasses? Really pretty girl?"

"Yeah, that's her I think. How do you know her?"

"I told you I've been wanting to pledge Kappa Mu since forever. When I found out I got accepted into Western U, I did research on their chapter. Ever since since she became chapter president, their chapter has been on top of everything. Charity work, community service, you name it they're ahead of the game. I read an article some months back that their house just got recently renovated, which is why it's so big now. They even go on mission trips and bonding trips at the end of the semester, which is crazy because a lot of sororities say that they want to do that, but they never do because they don't raise enough money and stuff like that."

Lili nodded slowly. Obviously Kappa Mu was not a force to be reckoned with. They say there's strength in numbers, and they certainly have that. Not to mention they have Camille behind everything. No wonder they look so good and unified. She wondered what she did to keep her girls 'at bay' as they said.

"I want to see everyone's house before I make my decision, even though my top preference choice is KM."

"Yeah me too. I'm kind of excited to see the Zeta house."

"Really? It didn't seem like much, it was such a small house."

"Just because it's small on the outside doesn't mean that it isn't nice on the inside. Don't be so shallow."

"I wasn't trying to be. It's just...I know that Kappa Mu and Zeta Nu have been rivals. Rivals for years and years. Some campuses, Zeta Nu comes out on top, and other campuses, campuses such as this one, Kappa Mu comes out on top. It just depends on the chapter success, and at West U, KM is extremely successful."

"Is that why you want to pledge them?"

"No, no of course not. I'm not _that_ shallow." Sophia said nudging her. "I've just always wanted to be apart of their sisterhood. I think it fits me most. Being in such a big community with girls that have the same heart as you is important to me. I love KM because you can find yourself while being yourself."

She nodded, smiling at her roommate. "That's the answer I've been looking for."

* * *

"Okay ladies, the next house we will be visiting is the Zeta Nu house." Elizabeta explained and led her group back out to sorority row.

This was it, she was finally going to see what her RA's sorority life was like. From the looks of it, it had been comfy and small knit, which is something that Lili liked. Kappa Mu was huge, but it seemed a bit too huge for Lili. Granted, she would definitely put it on her preferences just to have more options, but she didn't think it would be her first option.

When they came up to the doorstep, only one girl had been outside to greet them. "Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for coming to visit our humble abode that is Zeta Nu. Zeta Nu was founded in 1899 on Wickston Women's College campus, and the incredible Iota Theta was founded on Western University in 1953. Our close knit chapter has over 150 members, and we walk with our heads high in our green and white. The founding principles we stand by are service, unity, acceptance, love, and diversity. Our motto is 'A diverse group of individuals.' So without further adieu, the zealous Zeta Nu Iota Theta chapter." The girl pulled the door open and girls were lined up once more in the doorway.

"Welcome to our Zeta Nu! Where we celebrate girls like me and you! Our chapter's small, but we're still here! We fight for our rights, without any fear! We encourage our girls to be courageous and smart! And also different, with the same heart! You can be a new person here at Zeta Nu, or find yourself and be a better you!"

Instead of all being invited in, some girls had sat outside on the stairs of the porch, or on the porch swings. Lili had been posted up against the porch railing, talking to a couple of interesting girls, different girls. They were certainly a group of multicultural individuals, which was another thing Lili liked. She wished Elizabeta wasn't Rho Chi, so she could talk to her about her rush experience, but talking to Angela, and Micah, and Chyanne were nice too.

"Okay ladies! We're about to wrap up open house! I am Mei Xiao, the rush chair for Zeta Nu. We hope you enjoyed talking with us as much as we enjoyed talking with you, and we hope to see you tomorrow for house tours, enjoy the rest of your day!"

Lili left with her group. They had two more houses to attend, but she felt like she had made a decision.

* * *

"You wanna pledge Zeta Nu?" Sophia asked as she started taking off her makeup.

Lili sat at her desk, brushing her hair. "I mean it's still in the works, but I'm really leaning towards them."

"Well if you do pledge them, I don't know if we could be friends still."

Lili glared at her.

Sophia scoffed. "It's a joke! I swear it's a joke." She said and ran over to Lili hugging her. "Whatever you pledge I'll be happy for you, okay? And we'll still be friends, friends to the end."

Lili smiled. "Okay, as long as we're still friends, no matter what happens."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter, I'll will upload the next chapter in a couple of hours. Happy reading!

"Good morning ladies, we're so glad you're back for round two. We hope you're excited for Kappa Mu's house tour as we just recently renovated our home." Lisa spoke as she invited the two groups of girls inside their home.

Lili walked inside with Sophia, who seemed to have a permanent smile on her face. "Aren't your cheeks hurting?" She whispered.

"Yes, but I can't stop smiling." Sophia said through her smile.

"The Kappa Mu house has just recently been reopened in the past year. The house in renovations cost 12 million alone, and currently houses 70 girls in 35 rooms." She explained as she walked the girls through the foyer. A large crystal chandelier hung above them, and the white marble floor glistened under their feet. A black baby grand piano sat next to the door. "Since our colors are black and white, we made sure to have our colors were accented throughout the house." She said and led the girls to the living room.

"This is our formal living room. This room includes the furniture that was in our old home, mixed in with some of our new furniture." She said and lead them to the dining room.

"Our dining room can host up to 200 guests, and of course features our black and white. Very spacious, and large floor to ceiling windows to see the outdoor view. The doors outside leads to our patio, in which everything out there is new. That is mostly used for game day overflow from the dining room. It's covered from the sun, and has ceiling fans oscillating on the warmer days." She led them to the second living room.

"This is the second living room, the informal living room. This room is used for lounging, studying, watching television, things of that nature. That's it for the first floor, now we venture up to the second and third floor." With that, she lead them up to the second floor to another lobby. "This is the second floor lounge, also multipurpose. Studying, hanging out, lounging around." Then up to the third floor they went. "This is the senior lounge, though it is open to all members of KM. It lets out to the balcony, which has seating and a view of the outside of Bellmore stadium." Lisa lead them back down stairs to the basement.

"Our basement hall is filled with the history Gamma Tau, and also includes another lounge, a spacious study room, and our chapter meeting room." She pushed the door open. "This room is big enough to comfortably seat our girls and have room to practice dances, chants, and songs. It can also be used as a storm shelter for thunderstorms. Please come inside and make yourself comfortable. Our chapter president will be down momentarily for a bonding activity. I hope you enjoyed the house tour." With that Lisa left out of the room, and the girls took their seats.

Lili had been overwhelmed at how big the house was, and it was just a maze on the inside. It was also extremely beautiful. She knew that if she pledged Kappa Mu, then they would definitely be busy with philanthropy in order to keep up with such a big house.

"Isn't this such a pretty house?"

"Hm?"

"The house. It's so beautiful."

"Oh yeah, it's really beautiful. They must be really lucky to have so much."

Camille walked in and stepped up to the podium. "Hello ladies, I hope you enjoyed our beautiful home that we are very grateful for having. I am Camille Grimaldi, president of the Kappa Mu Gamma Tau chapter. I pledged my freshman year, and I am majoring in public relations. Before we go into the round, we're gonna be playing a game called 'Connection.' I start by saying something about me, and if someone has the same interest, then they will yell 'connection!' and say something else about them until another person gets a connection. Sounds easy right? So I will start. My favorite food is sushi."

"Connection!" One girl screamed in the back.

* * *

 

"Hi ladies, and welcome to the Zeta Nu Iota Theta house. We hoped you enjoyed our open house and that you will enjoy our house tour even more." Mei said and invited the girls inside. Lili was surprised that the house looked much bigger on the inside, and it was both very cozy and elegant. "The Zeta Nu houses 30 girls in 15 different rooms." She said stopping in the foyer. The foyer fit the all of the girls just right. There was no fancy chandelier above them, or no marble floors and no grand piano greeting them. Instead it was nice side tables that had pictures of their chapter, and their chairs. From the looks of it, Elizabeta was actually the Zeta Nu president.

Mei led them into the dining room. It was filled with pictures, and had a long dining table. "This is our dining room, where we have breakfasts together and dinners. During the day, we use it for studying as well." She said and then went to the living room. "Our living room is used for entertainment, lounging and also studying." Mei led them to the den. "This is our den, some nights we have movie nights, game board nights, and my favorite night, karaoke."

She lead them out and opened a door on the side of the stairs, and lead them down to the basement, which was converted into a large open room lined up with chairs. "This is for our chapter meetings, on good days we'll have them outside in the backyard." Mei lead them upstairs back to the living room. "So that will conclude our tour. Please make yourself comfortable as our chapter VP will be in here shortly for activities and questions." After that Mei left the living room.

A few moments later, a girl with short blonde hair came into the room, smiling at the potential new members. "Hello everyone, I am Bella Dufour, vice president of the Zeta Nu Iota Theta chapter, and before we start the round we thought it would be fun to do a little crafting. So in the dining room, we've set up crayons, colored pencils, and markers for a crafting activity we're going to before the round starts. Each group is going to draw whatever they want, and one person must narrate a collective story based off of everyone's drawing."

"Today was really fun." Lili said as she brushed her hair for the night.

"Yeah, it's almost bid day too. I'm so excited. I ended up talking to Camille in during the round today, and I think she really liked me." Sophia said.

"That's good. I'm sure you're a shoe-in for Kappa Mu."

Sophia smiled. "Thanks. You'll fit in great at Zeta Nu, it's the perfect sorority for you."

"You think?"

"Oh I know, you're practically just like them." She said and hopped in bed.

Lili shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She said. She had been playing it off well, but she had found herself hoping that she was in Zeta Nu as much as Sophia wanted to be in Kappa Mu.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope people are liking it, I haven't gotten any comments, kudos, or anything like that. I know it's not a popular pair, but I really like this AU with this pair, and I really hope people are liking it.

Lili looked up at the ceiling of the room. She couldn't sleep. When she woke up in the morning, it would be bid day, and bid day (of all things) had kept her up.

She had a successful third round. She ended up talking to Camille and Bella during the rounds, and they said they liked her both, but she still was so nervous about tomorrow. Lili climbed out of bed, and slipped on her slippers and grabbed her phone. Then, she quietly slipped out of the room.

She walked down to the lobby, and out the back door where the patio was. She rested against the cool glass door, sighing quietly. Why oh why did she have to get into this stuff so much? It was a simple interest, and now here she was hoping that she'd make it into Zeta Nu.

"Lili?"

The German girl looked over, finding Elizabeta sitting at a table with someone.

"What are you doing out here so late?" She asked beckoning her over.

Lili walked over taking a seat at the table. "No reason, I just couldn't sleep." She said before looking over at the guy that was sitting next to Elizabeta. "I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

"Oh no, no no. Actually, Lili this is my boyfriend Roderich, Roderich this is one of my hall girls, Lili."

"Oh, nice to meet you." She said smiling some she said reaching to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you too." He said giving her a friendly smile and shaking her hand.

"Now why couldn't you sleep? Are you nervous about tomorrow?" She asked.

"A little."

Elizabeta smiled and patted her hand. "It's okay sweetheart. I was in your same shoes when I was rushing. It's normal. Completely normal."

Lili looked down and glanced up at her. "Can I tell you something?" She asked.

"Anything."

"I wish you weren't Rho Chi so I could talk to you about Zeta." She admitted.

"Well, I'm your RA now. Anything you want to know, you can ask me."

Lili looked up at her. "Really?"

"Mhmm, shoot."

"Okay, what made you chose Zeta Nu?"

"Well, it was one of the smallest sororities on campus, and I didn't want to be in something so big. Actually, I didn't want to be in a sorority at all, I mostly did it for the networking and opportunities you get with it. But, the more I learned to got to know my sisters, I slowly started to invest my entire life into it. That's why I'm chapter president now. I love my girls. We're so diverse, and our principles fit me the best.I wouldn't trade Zeta Nu for the world. We're so close knit, and I can honestly say it changed my life."

"Have you ever lived in your house before?"

"I did my second year, but then I started dating Roderich, and it was kind of hard seeing him because boys aren't allowed in the house, so I'd always stay over his dorm. It wasn't really much use because I spent so much time with him, I was rarely there. So to me, it was easier staying in a dorm."

"Do you all do as much philanthropy work as Kappa Mu?"

"Yes, of course we do...But sometimes, things happen, and you just push through and keep smiling, and keep your mouth shut about the issues you have to keep peace….Even if that Kappa Mu puppet master is good at hiding her strings." Elizabeta said, muttering the last part.

Roderich shook his head. "I knew it. I knew you couldn't do it."

"What? I didn't say anything."

"It was freshman year Eliza."

"Well I mean it was freshman year, and first semester of sophomore year, but okay."

Lili looked at the two fuss at each other, confused. "Am I missing something?" Lili asked.

"Camille and I dated before I started dating Elizabeta, and she doesn't trust her and is very biased against her, when honestly she's not as bad as she thinks."

Lili nodded looking at the two. "Yeah, I had been talking with her, and she's not bad. She's actually really sweet."

"Yeah on the _surface_. There's something about her that's off nowadays. I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna find out."

Roderich rolled his eyes. "She's nothing to fear Lili. There's nothing wrong with Camille, she's just paranoid because of our past relationship."

Elizabeta scoffed. "I'm not paranoid. I know her as well as you do. She's not the same person. Not since she joined Kappa Mu."

"Well you're not the same person since Zeta Nu. Did you think for once maybe she's just different because she's a better person?"

"Or worse?" She asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

Lili gave a shy smile. She imagined that Roderich must have gotten a lot of talks about Camille, and probably not so good ones either.

"Well, either way, I've grown a liking to Zeta Nu, I like the sorority a lot, and I really hope that I made the bid."

"Well, your envelope might surprise you tomorrow." Elizabeta told her smiling.

Lili smiled as well. "You know, talking with you has been really nice Eliza. I'm gonna head to bed." She spoke standing up.

"Okay, get some rest I'll see you at bid day tomorrow." Elizabeta said with a wave.

"See you tomorrow. Nice meeting you Roderich."

"Nice meeting you too Lili." He said waving at her.

With that, she went back inside.

* * *

"Today is probably the second most nervous day of my life." Sophia spoke as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail.

Lili pulled her camisole over her head. "Second most? What's the first?"

"My wedding day, well at least I'm sure it will be. But anyways, I'm super nervous."

Today was the day, today was the moment of truth. Today, was bid day. Lili had been so nervous. What if Zeta Nu didn't bid on her? Well, she'd be disappointed, but the experience was nice, but talking to Elizabeta had made her at ease. After all, she did say her envelope would surprise her, so maybe that meant something good. She didn't think Kappa Mu would bid on her, but if they did, she'd learn to love her 'sisters' and would probably have a lot of fun with Sophia. She knew that she was getting into Kappa Mu.

"Alright, my hair is done, my makeup is done, my phone is charged, and I'm ready to go." Sophia said.

Lili brushed her hair a little more before pausing when she saw that she was getting a Facetime call from Emil. "Hey Emil's calling me." She told her roommate and answered the call. She propped her phone against the lamp on her desk. "Hey Emil." She said while she was busy putting a ribbon in her hair.

"Good morning. You guys ready for bid day?" He asked over the phone.

"Yeah, we were actually about to head out now." She spoke and pushed her hair back in the ribbon. "You call for something?"

"No, no reason. Just wanted to tell you guys good luck on your bids, and I hope you guys got what you wanted." He said.

Sophia came behind Lili, smiling widely. "Thanks Emil, you're so sweet."

"Yeah, that was very sweet of you Emil. We'll talk to you soon. We're about to go."

"Ok I'll talk to you guys soon."

"Bye!" The girls said in unison before Lili hung up.

"Bid day here we come."

* * *

"Good morning ladies. Today is the day, bid day. I have your envelops, you cannot open them until you make it to the meeting area. I hope you're all excited, and I wish you all the best on your journey in your sorority." Elizabeta said and passed out the envelopes.

Lili looked at her white envelope with her name on it. This was it, this held her fate essentially. She held it close to her, she really hoped this was an invitation to Zeta Nu. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her arm.

"Quit staring out into space, we're leaving." Sophia said and ran to catch them both up with the group. Elizabeta lead the group out to the front lawn, where every group was out there from rush week.

Elizabeta turned to her group. "Before you open your letter, I just want to tell you guys thank you so much for being patient with me since I couldn't be with you guys as much as I wanted to for rush week. And also, your group Rho Chi has been Elizabeta Hedervary, chapter president of Zeta Nu, Iota Theta chapter. Now, open your envelopes." With that she covered her ears.

The girls ripped the envelopes open, and suddenly girls started screaming and jumping up and down excitedly. Lili's heart was beating out of her chest right now, she opened the letter, and could feel her heart sink.

_Kappa Mu Gamma Tau Chapter_

_cordially invites_

_Lili Zwingli_

_To the sisterhood_

_God Bless Kappa Mu_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late update? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Emil rolled over in bed when he felt his phone buzzing under his pillow. He shuffled his hand under the pillow, and answered it tiredly. "Hello?"

"Emil, can you meet me out on the front lawn? I want to talk to you."

Emil sat up more hearing Lili's voice. "Lili? It's like one in the morning. Can't it wait until tomorrow or something?"

"I can't sleep, and I wanted to see you. Will you please just meet me on the front lawn? By the fountain." She said.

Emil sighed. "Okay. Fine. I'll be out there soon okay?"

.

.

.

Emil walked out to the front lawn, where he saw Lili already sitting on the brick fountain waiting for him. He sat down next to her. "So, what was so important that you had to tell me in the middle of the night?" He asked.

Lilil looked down at her lap. "All day today, I had been celebrating with Sophia about us both getting into Kappa Mu, and I've been happy. Really, I've been genuinely happy because it's something that we can both do together, and we'll be closer now compared to anything, but…."

"But?"

Lili gripped at her pajama pants tightly.. "I really wanted to be a Zeta, and I just can't believe they didn't bid on me. And I hope I'm not sounding snobbish or anything, but I just thought that…." She trailed off when tears started hitting her hands.

Emil's heart sank when he saw her tears. He felt so bad for Lili. He didn't even think that she was that into it, but maybe just being apart of rush week just helped build the excitement for her. He pulled her over and Lili buried her face into his chest as she continued to sob.

"I just thought that m-maybe I had a c-chance. And that when Lizzie said that I would be surprised, I thought it was a good t-thing." Lili hiccuped.

Emil rubbed her back soothingly. "Okay, okay, stop crying Lili. It's okay. Maybe you didn't get the sorority you wanted to be in, but you're still with your roommate. You told me, you never shared a room with anyone until now, and you said that you looked at her as a sister, because you thought normally siblings share rooms. Now, she really is your sister. Kappa Mu is important to her, you know it is. And I'm sure it's even more important to her because now you're in it with her. She doesn't have to do it alone now. And if you don't want to do Kappa Mu for yourself, do it for Sophia."

Lili pulled away from him. "But, it just hurts. It hurts so bad." She said.

"It hurts now." He said wiping away her tears gently. "It'll hurt now, it may hurt for a while, but eventually, you won't think about it as much. And the less you think about it, the easier it'll be to enjoy being with Sophie and in Kappa Mu."

She looked up at him, giving a small smile. "I'm so glad I met you." And wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

* * *

Lili ate breakfast with the rest of the new girls that were rushed into Kappa Mu with her. Here she was, eating in their beautiful dining room with her roommate. She felt out of place, but she had to admit, that the breakfast was good, and Sophia looked pretty happy. So she couldn't complain.

"Can I have your bagel?" Sophia asked.

Wordlessly, Lili slid the strawberry cream cheese bagel over to Sophia.

Grinning, Sophia picked up the bagel and bit into it.

"You've got cream cheese on your cheek."

.

.

.

Once breakfast was over, the members shuffled down in the basement to the meeting room, taking their seats before Camille came in and stepped up at the podium.

"Good morning members. Congratulations on your acceptance in Kappa Mu Gamma Tau chapter. I'm so glad to have welcomed so many of you ladies in our sorority, increasing our numbers, and strengthening our chapter one crown at a time. This meeting will be the first of many. You've decided to pledge Kappa Mu, and I'm sure you're wondering what happens now. What happens now, is what we call, new-member education. New-member education is everything you need to know about Kappa Mu, Gamma Tau, our values, our missions, our philanthropy, our everything. NME also consists of mandatory study hours here at the house once a week, and meetings once a week here as well. In two weeks, you'll have your entrance exam. Everything you learn from us, will be on that exam. That exam will push you into initiation. Once you've done initiation, you will be an official member of Kappa Mu. Questions?"

"So what should I expect?" Lili whispered to her roommate.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I read those nasty stories about hazing and things like that, and since you're more of an expert than I am, I just wanted to know."

"Oh that stuff? Well, I read this page on their chapter website that talked about their hazing policy. It said something about Gamma Tau against Hazing? I can't really remember, but I don't think they'll really do anything." She whispered back.

Lili nodded. Well that was one less thing to worry about.

* * *

With the fuss of rush week being over, classes had actually started. Luckily the three of them were in the same Intro to Sociology class along with two hundred other students. The big class made Lili slightly uncomfortable, but with Emil and Sophia sandwiched between her, she'd soon get used to it.

Sophia and Lili had fell into the Greek life schedule with ease. Class, study sessions, class, NME, class, chapter meeting, and more class. Monday through Friday. She hadn't admitted it to Emil just yet, but he was right. The hurt became less, and being with Sophia more had made it go away. She was happy for that, and she was starting to become content with her Kappa Mu family.

"I hope everyone has been keeping up with their studies and has been studying for the entrance exam that's only a week away." Camille said at Friday's chapter meeting. "Once everyone's done with their exam, the scores will be posted on the wall in the foyer within the next hour or so. If you pass with a 75 or better, congrats you move onto initiation which will be held that Friday night. If you do not pass, maybe we'll see you again next year at rush week."

"Are you nervous about the test?" Sophia asked.

"Why be nervous when I have you?" Lili asked.

Sophia gave a hearty chuckle. "I guess you do have the 'expert' as you call me to help you study." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Alright, chapter meeting is adjourned. Have a good Friday everyone, and remember, God Bless Kappa Mu."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the bright side, this chapter makes them all caught up, and now I can start updating them both at the same time now!


	7. Chapter 7

Sophia hummed as she sketched at her desk, playing instrumentals in the background. She had been waiting for Lili to get out of her biology class so they could go to NME together. Suddenly her phone rang, a call from Emil. "Hey Emil."

"Hey Sophia, is Lili around?"

"No, she's in class, she's getting out soon though. You can just call her after class."

"No, no that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, do you think Lili likes flowers?"

Sophia looked at her phone strangely before putting it back to her ear. "What are you getting Lili flowers for? What are you up to?"

"I don't need interrogation Sophia, I need answers. Flowers, do you think she'll like them or not?"

"What are they for? Are you going on a date? Oh my God you're going on a date with her! Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't _she_ tell me?"

"No I want to _ask_ her on a date. I need to see if she likes flowers so I can take her to the green house on campus, okay? I haven't done this in a while, and I really like her, so I don't want to screw this up."

Sophia laughed as she tipped back in her chair. "I can tell. Don't take her to somewhere on campus she can see for herself, you have a car. Go off campus and take her somewhere. Do something that she's interested in, or something that she's never done before that's fun."

"Somewhere fun and off campus. Okay, Got it."

"Got it? Good, where are you taking her?"

"I meant 'got it' as in I was taking a mental note. I don't know how to go about this fully honestly. I was pretty much just going to shoot the shot and hope that she doesn't decline too harshly."

Sophia sat back up in her chair. "Are you mental? She's going to say yes! Just give it some more thought, think about where you want to take her. Like I said, somewhere fun. Let it be something that you'd both enjoy." She said before she heard the door unlocking. "Shit, Lili's back I gotta call you back later. Think about what I said okay?" She said and hung up the phone.

Lili pushed the door open, glad to be done with class for today. She sighed and tossed her bookbag on the bed. "Ready for NME?"

"Yep! Last NME class." Sophia said standing up from her desk.

"Last NME class, and then the exam on Friday."

Sophia grabbed her keys and headed to the door. "Hey, do you like flowers?" She asked as they walked out the door.

* * *

"And so, in 2005 Gamma Tau funded it's first mentor-mentee program called 'Kappa Kids' where we are assigned to one child for a semester and help them with their work during their time at their after school program."

Lili quickly scribbled notes in her notebook. She was glad NME was over after this. It was like having another class, but she had all the information she needed and now they could really study for Friday.

"Alright, that was the last bit of information left that will be on the entrance exam. Study hard, we'll see you bright and early on Friday. Enjoy the rest of your day." With that NME was dismissed.

Sophia and Lili had walked out of the room and upstairs to the foyer.

"What are we doing after this?" Sophia asked her.

Lili shrugged. "Are you hungry?"

"Eh, not really so hungry." She said as she scrolled through her phone, pausing when she saw the text appear across the screen from Emil. "On second thought, I'm starving, let's go." She said and dragged Lili to the dining hall.

.

.

.

Lili sat down with her plate of food next to Emil, and Sophia followed suit by sitting across the table from them.

"How was class?" Emil asked the two.

"Which one?" Lili and Sophia asked at the same time.

"Both?"

"Oh, good. They were good." Lili spoke next.

Sophia nodded.

"I still think it's weird that you guys have classes based off of the history of your sorority, and you have an entire test on it. Blows my mind." He said shaking his head.

"Kappa Mu takes no slackers into their chapter." Sophia claimed.

"I see." Emil said with a nod. "So, after your exam it's initiation?"

"Correct, it'll be that Friday."

"Ok, so what are you doing Saturday?"

Lili shrugged glancing at Sophia. "Nothing that I know of." She said.

Emil tapped his hand against the table nervously. "Well, if you're not busy, I was wondering if you'd like to go out this weekend? I heard there was an aquarium in town, and since you're into marine biology, I thought you'd want to go...with me...as a, ah…"

"Date?"

"Yes, like a…date."

Lili slowly started to smile as her cheeks started to flush with excitement and nervousness. "I'd love to go Emil."

Emil blinked. "Really? I-I mean, great whenever you're ready; just call and we'll go." He said before jumping when he felt Sophia kick him under the table. "I mean, I'll come to McCall at four to get you."

Lili nodded slowly. "Okay, that's fine." She said.

* * *

"He asked you out! He asked you out on a date! Why are you taking this so well?" Sophia said shaking Lili excitedly.

Lili shooed her away as she continued to brush her hair. "Because it's not a big deal. It's just Emil. We're going out on a date, and he's taking me somewhere I've always wanted to go..." Her brushing slowed to a stop. "And he's going to hold my hand, and tell me I'm pretty, and I'm probably going annoy him with my extensive knowledge of marine animals but he'll just think it's cute, a-and—oh my goodness I can't wait for this date Sophia. I like him so much, he's so kind, and smart, and cute, I really hope I don't mess this up for myself." Lili gushed as she covered her face.

Sophia squealed."Awwww! My roommate has a crush on her first friend in college!" Sophia said holding her. "It'll be great, I promise. What's the worse that can happen?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap your boots on, this chapter thicc.

"Good morning ladies! Please have a seat at whatever computer is available. I hope you all are well prepared for the entrance exam. We'll begin once everyone is seated!" Camille called over the murmur in the room.

Lili and Sophia sat next to each other at a computer desk. They had spent the last couple of days coaching each other, trying to drill the information into each other's heads. "You just need a 75. Okay?" Sophia told her. She could tell that Lili was a little nervous, she wasn't the one that was the expert. She had to start from scratch and really understand the information and study over it well.

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm okay. I'll be fine." She said nodding.

Sophia nodded. "Okay, I believe you."

"Alright everyone, the test is already brought up for you, just enter your name as the username, and your student id as your password, and you may begin. Once you're done help yourself to the snacks we have in the dinning room " She spoke and went to go sit in her seat.

With that, Lili and Sophia started their tests.

* * *

Sophia had finished before Lili, but it hadn't been long until Lili was finished as well. When she was done, Lili went to the dining room and picked out some of the snacks before finding Sophia to sit with her.

"Hey, how do you think you did?"

Lili shrugged. "Okay I guess." She said to her. There were some that she was sure she had missed, but she felt like she did okay on everything else.

"I'm sure it won't be long until the scores are posted. In the meantime, do you think we have time to pick out your outfit for your date with Emil tomorrow?" Sophia asked.

Lili winced some. "That is tomorrow isn't it?" She asked before running her hands through her hair.

Sophia frowned. "You're not getting cold feet are you? Lili you were so excited about it last night, what's wrong?"

"I'm excited for it and everything, but this is still my first date. I've never done anything like this. It's an entire day away and I'm anxious about it."

"Nonsense, you just have to boost yourself up for it. Everyone has first date jitters, which is why you plan things so nothing goes astray. Do your homework now so you won't have to worry about it later, you plan your outfit, do your hair, your nails; the whole nine yards. Wanna go out to a mall or something and find something cute?"

"And how do you suppose we'd get there?"

.

.

.

"You want to borrow my car to go to the mall?" Emil asked Lili over the phone.

"Can we, please? I really wanted to look nice for our date tomorrow, and plus we wanted to waste some time before the scores were put up from the entrance exam."

"Oh." Emil said, though he hadn't heard the rest of what she said. He only heard that she wanted to look nice for their date tomorrow, and that's what really mattered. It was nice though, her wanting to look nice for their date, it made him a little excited actually. "I'll come over to McCall to drop off my keys."

Lili smiled. "Okay, we'll see you in a minute." She said and hung up the phone. "Come on, he said he was coming over to drop his keys off." With that, Lili left out the room with Sophia in tow.

Meanwhile, Emil had went over to McCall hall, waiting in their lobby for them to come down.

Lili and Sophia came downstairs to the lobby where Emil was already there waiting by the desk. "Thank you. We won't take long, promise."

"No it's fine, take your time. I don't have anywhere to go. I'm parked outside of Chester." He said handing her the keys.

"Do you have your room key?"

"Yeah, I took it off before I got over here."

"Alright, well we'll be back soon." Lili spoke and started to leave for her room before Emil grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Pick out something nice for me." He told her with a smirk on his face.

Lili smiled as her face started to flush. "Okay." With that she had left with Sophia back to their room.

Once back in the room, Lili closed the door behind them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you guys started dating after your date." Sophia said grabbing her wallet and phone.

Lili grabbed her own keys and phone, she shook her head. "Only after one date? Be a little more realistic Sophie."

"Oh no, no, no. _This_ is realistic. He has feelings for you, genuine feelings. And you'd be lying if you said you didn't have feelings for him too. He's already flirting with you and you haven't even been on your date yet." She said and opened the door for them to walk out.

Lili followed Sophia out the door and locked it behind them. "I mean, I do have feelings for him. But..."

"But?"

"Maybe it's moving too fast?"

Sophia sighed. "Lili…"

"I just feel like I haven't spent enough time with him—"

"Because we've been so busy with KM."

"Sophie I don't think it's—"

"You may not think it is, but it is. Think about it for a minute Lili. During rush week we only saw him after the day was over, and that was during dinner. We'd see him after NME for dinner. The most we see Emil is in the one class we have with him for 75 uninterrupted minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And that's class, you're not doing a lot of talking in there. You're right, you haven't spent enough time with him, but he's _still_ managed to grow feelings for you outside the minimal contact you have with him."

Lili hadn't thought about it that way. They did spend a lot of their time in KM. "I wish, I had more time to spend with him." She said quietly as she pushed the door open to walk out of the dorm building. Oddly, she had understood how Elizabeta felt with her boyfriend Roderich. It hurt a little knowing that they didn't have a lot of time together. Of course, Emil wasn't her boyfriend, but she had feelings for him, and wanted to spend time with him but couldn't because of how busy greek life is.

Sophia looked over at Lili and nudged her some. "You know what, he's very supportive of us having so much of our time consumed by KM. He always asks about it, and keeps up with it as much as we do. You have to _make_ time for him Lili. Give him some of your time. Let your date with him be the time you get to know him, that's what a first date's for anyways. Spend time with him, spend all of your time with him Lili."

"But, the more time I spend with him, the less time I'll have with you." Lili said looking over at her.

Sophia gave a small smile. "It's really sweet that you always think of me too, but you're pledging Kappa Mu for me. You could have declined the bid, but you didn't _for me_. It would be wrong of me if I was upset that you weren't spending as much time with me. Besides, we live together, eventually you'll get tired of looking at my face and want to look at Emil's way more."

Lili laughed at that. "I guess you're right. I just don't want it to be weird between all of us."

"It won't be, I promise."

With that, Lili and Sophia went over to Chester hall and found Emil's car. Lili unlocked it from afar and they slipped into it. Lili adjusted the driver's seat first, seeing that she had been much shorter than Emil. Then, she started up the car and headed out.

* * *

"What do you think about this?" Sophia asked holding up a floral skirt.

Lili looked at the skirt, nodding in approval. "It's cute, but what would I wear as a top?" She asked.

"We'll find something." She said and put the skirt in the cart. "But in the meantime, try on some of this stuff first. The cart is getting full."

.

Lili came out of the dressing room with a yellow sundress that came up to her knees and flowed when she walked. "This?"

Sophia examined it before shaking her head. "Too dressy."

.

Lili came out again this time wearing a blue long-sleeve jumpsuit. "This?"

Sophia shrugged. "You're going to the aquarium, not dinner."

.

Lili came out once more in an off-the-shoulder pink and white romper.

Sophia smiled. "That's cute. I like that." She said nodding.

Lili grinned and looked at herself in the mirror before wincing. "I look like a little boy." She said. Her breasts were already small, and the romper made her breasts disappear. "No." She spoke and went back into the dressing room.

.

She came back out with a pair of distressed cuffed white jeans with a teal halter top.

"Cute. No question about it." Sophia said.

Lili stood in the mirror once more observing herself. She had breasts, her butt didn't look weird in the jeans. She looked cute, and she felt cute. This was very much a nice date outfit in her opinion. "We've found an outfit." She said triumphantly and looked at the price of the pants before wincing. "Nevermind I'll just wear the pair I have at the dorm that look like these." She muttered before going back into the dressing room. She could hear Sophia laughing.

.

.

.

"Well that was a successful shopping day." Lili said as they walked out of the store with the top.

Sophia nodded. "I just wish you saw your face when you saw the price of those jeans, I wish I was recording." She said laughing more.

Lili shook her head. "Was it that bad?"

"The look of disbelief was comparable to like a three-month old speaking perfect English to you."

Lili laughed at that. "Okay, maybe that was a little bad."

Once they were in the car, Lili pulled down the sun visor. The sun had been perfectly in her line of vision, she paused when she saw something clipped in the sun visor. "Is this Emil's driver's license?" She asked herself pulling it out the clip. She looked at it strangely. "He's not from California."

"And his name isn't Nathaniel Green." Sophia said next before laughing. "It's a fake ID. What does he have this for?" She said before laughing harder.

Lili had found it funny herself. It made her giggle. "Obviously to buy alcohol, hm, I didn't know Emil drank. Weird." She said and started up the car to head back to campus.

* * *

Lili parked outside of the Kappa Mu house and went inside, finding dozens of girls crowded around the scores in the foyer. They managed to push their way to the front and get to the scores.

_Lili Zwingli….....................................89_

_Sophia James….................................96_

Lili and Sophia looked at each other before pulling each other in a tight hug.

"We did it. I'm so proud of us." Sophia said with a grin.

Lili smiled warmly at her. "All we have to do now is initiation, and we'll officially be members." She said.

"Come on, they said to go to the meeting room if you passed." With that, Sophia and Lili went down to the meeting room where there were other girls waiting. There was definitely not as many girls as it was before. It looked like it was almost half as many girls here now.

Camille had waited for everyone to come inside and take their seats. "Congratulations ladies on passing your entrance exams. You're officially in the next and final stage of becoming apart of Kappa Mu: Initiation. Our initiation will be in two parts. The first part takes place here, and the second part of it will take place at the Sigma Chi Gamma fraternity house. You are allowed one guest to accompany you to the Gamma house. Be here at 7 o'clock sharp, we will have clothing prepared for you already to go into initiation." She said.

"You'd think Emil would want to come?" Sophia asked.

"Maybe, you know he's not into this kind of stuff." Lili said.

"Well if we're allowed one guest, then maybe it'll be fun."

Lili shrugged. "Also true. I'll see if he wants to come."

"I have no further announcements, we'll see you tonight for initiation ladies." With that Camille dismissed the group.

Lili stood with Emil's keys in her hand. "Come on. Let's go drop off the car." She said and made her way out the meeting room with Sophia.

.

.

.

"Thanks for the car. I found something really nice." Lili said giving Emil back the keys.

Emil took his keys, and looped his dorm key back on with the rest of his keys. "That's good. I'm excited for tomorrow."

"Me too...But if you want to do something tonight, the second part of our initiation is at the Gamma fraternity house. You can come if you want."

Emil shrugged. "Sure I'll come if you want me to. Did you want me to?"

She nodded her head.

"Well then I'll go, okay? I'll see you tonight." With that, Emil leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"See you tonight." She said smiling at him and waving when he left. Lili cupped her cheeks, shaking her head. Why did Emil make her feel like this? She felt like a giddy school girl when he kissed her cheek, but she absolutely loved it. She had to tell Sophia, and she ran back upstairs to tell her what happened.

* * *

"How do you think tonight's going to go Sophie?" Lili asked as she twisted her hair back and clipped it to the side

Sophia shrugged as she applied her mascara. "I don't know, never done this before of course, but I'm hoping it'll go well."

Lili also hoped it would go well. She was excited that Emil was coming too, and she was glad she had invited him. Maybe this would be a good way to spend time with him.

"What time is it?" Sophia asked.

Lili looked at her phone. "It's 6:30."

"Okay. Let's get going, we don't want to be late to our own initiation." Sophia stood and grabbed her things for them to go.

"Mkay," Lili spoke as she stood up as well. "I told Emil that I'll call him once we're done with the first part of initiation." With that the two left out of the room and to the Kappa Mu house.

.

.

.

Downstairs in the study room, there were dozens and dozens of racks with the same white sundress in different sizes.

"This will be your attire for initiation. Once you're done getting dressed, come up to the attic, and we will begin initiation." One girl told them.

Lili looked around on the racks, she was so small. Some were too big for her, others were too long for her. She ended up having to wear the smallest size they had, but at least she found something.

Sophia walked over to Lili, already in her dress. "I feel like I should have put my hair up."

Lili slipped the dress over her camisole and soffe shorts. "You look fine. At least you didn't have a hard time finding a dress that fit right." She said with a laugh.

Sophia smiled at her. "You look good too. Come on. Let's get to the attic."

* * *

The attic was lined with candles and every member from Kappa Mu wearing the same dress as them. The new members walked in a straight line in front of the all of the chapter chairs and spread out in rows.

Camille stepped forward, a candle in hand. "For decades, Kappa Mu has accepted women worthy of wearing crowns. Women that carry themselves higher than anyone, but still shows that she is humble. In Kappa Mu, we ask each other, 'How do you carry yourself?' And in reply we say amongst ourselves, 'High and Humble' to show respect to one another in our society.

"In Kappa Mu, we greet each other by wrapping our pinky fingers around one another, as a promise that through whatever happens, we will always be sisters. In Kappa Mu, we have a bond that can never be broken. In Kappa Mu, there are secrets that can only be shared between us.

"Kappa Mu had originally been a religious order. Were our philanthropy had been prophesied by our founders from God, and we were meant to carry out with these orders from Him in order to ensure our place in Heaven. This is the reason our motto is God Bless Kappa Mu. Since then it has become apart of the National Panhellenic Conference. However, there are secrets in this chapter alone that cannot be shared among everyone. I myself bare secrets that I cannot share with my sisters. Now, repeat after me, 'I, state your name,"

The girls repeated.

"Will honor and uphold Kappa Mu's rules while wearing my greek letters."

Repeat.

"I will never tell a non-member of our handshakes, passwords, or historical secrets."

Repeat.

"And I understand that doing so will result in dismissal from my chapter and from the organization."

Repeat.

"Now, you have all earned your crowns. Members, please crown our new members."

The members walked to the new members with flower crowns and placed them on their heads. "High and humble." The members told them and intertwined their pinkies afterwards.

"Part one of initiation is complete. Now that you are all members, I can now reveal that part two of your initiation will be a party in celebration of the initiation. Please remove your dresses downstairs, and you will have an hour break to get ready for part two of your initiation at the Gamma house. Dress accordingly, no letters. We will see you there." Camille spoke.

Lili and Sophia went back downstairs with all of the other girls, taking off their dresses and hanging them up with everyone else's dresses. Then, they headed downstairs and to McCall hall. "A party sounds fun. We haven't been to any yet." Sophia said.

"Yeah I've never been to a party, let alone a college party." Lili spoke as they walked back.

"You've never been to a party?"

"Strict brother."

"Oh right, sorry about that. But hey, it's probably going to be a lot of fun. You'll be with me and Emil."

"That's right, I forgot I invited Emil. You think he'll still want to go if it's a party?"

"Maybe. Call him."

Lili took out her phone and proceeded to call Emil, who picked up soon after.

"Hello?"

"Hey Emil, we just got out of initiation. The second part of our initiation is a party. If you you still want to come?" She asked.

"If you're still going, then I'm still going." He said to her.

Lili smiled. "Okay, we're on our way back to our dorm now. We'll be ready in about half an hour. Just meet us outside."

"Sure, I'll see you guys then."

With a quick goodbye, Lili hung up the phone. "He's still coming."

"Ooh how exciting, the guy you like going to a party with you. You have to dance with him and have a good time, don't worry about me. Have fun with him, okay? Oh! And I'm going to dress you, and do your make up. You'd look so pretty with highlight."

* * *

Sophia was finishing off Lili's makeup when she had received a call. "It's Emil. You want me to answer it?" She asked.

"Yes please." Lili spoke.

Sophia grabbed her phone and held it in between her shoulder and cheek as she continued to to Lili's hair. "Hey, you're here?"

"Yeah I'm waiting outside McCall now."

"Mkay, we're almost ready. We'll be down in a sec." She told him before hearing his 'okay.' and hanging up.

Sophia lastly added a pink lip gloss to her lips before giving her a hand held mirror to look at. "How do you like?"

"I look so...sparkly?"

"Yes that's the point of highlight, but it looks natural correct?" She spoke putting on her jacket.

"Yeah. It's really pretty though. I like it." She spoke standing up and looking in the mirror at herself. "I just feel so naked." She muttered as she continued to look at herself in the pink crop top and blue jean shorts. Crop tops weren't really her thing, her brother never let her wear them, and it just made her feel vulnerable all together.

"It's for one night. If you don't like it, you'll never have to wear them again." She told her. "But, I think you look great in it. Now come on, we can't keep Emil waiting."

"Okay. If you say so." Lili said and followed Sophia out, locking the door behind them.

Sophia and Lili walked downstairs through the lobby and out the door where Emil had been sitting outside on a bench, standing up when he saw them. "Lili, you look really pretty. Are you wearing makeup?"

Lili smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, Sophia did it for me." She spoke.

"Well, she did a good job." He told her.

"Thank you!" Sophia said popping her head in between them.

"So am I driving here? Or are we walking?" Emil asked.

"It's probably best you drove, so we could get there quicker. Fraternity row is a couple of blocks further than sorority row." Sophia spoke.

"Alright, to the car we go." He said.

* * *

It wasn't easy finding parking, but he managed to find a spot on the street outside the house. Sigma Chi Gamma's house was just as big as Kappa Mu's. Once they were inside, there were strobe lights, colorful disco lights, and loud music everywhere. It was also hot, extremely hot in their house. Lili was glad that she was wearing a crop top and shorts. It seemed like a lot of girls took advantage of bringing a guest with them, or maybe it was just a lot of Greeks? Either way, the place was packed. Was it even legal to have this many people in a house at one time?

"Have you seen Camille anywhere?" Lili screamed over the music.

"I think that's her over there!" She screamed back and grabbed Lili's hand, while Lili grabbed Emil's hand and led them over to her.

Camille had been sitting on top of the bar, singing at the top of her lungs with a cup in her hands. When she saw two of her girls, she smiled and waved at them. "Welcome to part two of your initiation. Your goal is to drink, and drink and drink. Five shot minimum for KM girls." She told them and put a shot glass in both of their hands. "Have fun."

Sophia smiled at her before looking back at Lili who seemed tense. "What's wrong?" She asked her.

"I don't drink."

"Like never?"

"Well I had champagne at a wedding? Does that count?"

She shook her head. "You never know if you don't try. College is the experimental years Lili. You don't have to worry about anything, I'll be here drinking with you, Emil's driving us home, and what do I say if you don't like it?"

"You never have to do it again?"

"Exactly!" She said and clinked her glass against Lili's before drinking the shot whole.

Lili hesitated before slowly drinking it in one gulp. She coughed harshly and Emil patted her back for her.

Sophia laughed. "Are you okay?" She asked.

She nodded. It made her feel weird, and her throat burned from the aftertaste. But hey, only four more shots to go.

Four shots slowly turned into six shots.

" _I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up four wheel drive! I carved my name into his leather seats!_ " Lili and Sophia sung together at the bar.

Emil had been sitting at the bar, just drinking soda and watching Lili and Sophia the whole night. It made him smile some, Lili was so cute, singing at the top of her lungs with her face completely flushed. He was glad she was having fun.

Lili shuffled her way over to Emil, leaning against the bar. "You come here often?" She asked Emil, suggestively waving her eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Pretty often, where else is a man supposed to get a can of Coke this good?" He asked holding his can up. "What about you? Never seen a pretty face like yours in a place like this."

Lili shrugged, looking back when she noticed Sophia hand her another shot of vodka. "Where else is a woman supposed to get a shot of vodka this good?" She asked and clinked her glass with her roommate's before downing the shot.

Then, the song changed.

_Round the city, round the clock_

"Oh my God is this Frank Ocean?" She asked as she kept listening and started to sing the words.

"You like Frank Ocean?" Sophia screamed.

"I love him! My brother never let me listen to him, but I listened to him when he wasn't around. I love this song!" She spoke and continued to sing the words.

_Breathe 'til I evaporated_

_My whole body see through_

_Transportation, handmade_

"I wish I brought my C.D. I left it in my car!" She whined, but still continued to sing the words.

 _New beginnings wake up ah_  
The sun's going down  
Time to start your day bruh

"Oh I love this part!" She said and climbed on the bar, dancing and singing.

 _Can't keep being late on me_  
Know you need the money if you gon' survive  
The every night shit, every day shit

Lili didn't swear. She never swore, she didn't even swear when she was in the car by herself. Tonight she didn't care. She loved his song, and she was going to sing it all.

Sophia and other girls had cheered her on while Emil stood up. This was not good, and this could not end well. "Lili, get down!" He yelled at her.

_Want to see nirvana, but don't want to die yet_

Other girls that knew the song began to sing with her too. They made snapchats of Lili dancing and singing on the bar.

"Lili, would you please get down from there before you fall?" Emil said and held a hand out to her.

Lili pointed at Emil. " _Shut the fuck up, I don't want your conversation._ " She sang to him before singing to the crowd around her.

"Ohhhhh!" The girls around her collectively said as she continued singing.

"You just got burned bro!" Sophia said to him.

Emil rolled his eyes. "That's it." He said and reached for Lili's hips, and threw her over his shoulder.

Lili yelped as she fell over Emil's shoulder. "Good night everybody! Long live Frank Ocean!" She screamed and grabbed Sophia's hand while Emil took her to the exit.

Once they were out the house, Emil put Lili down on the ground, and had to catch her when she started stumbling. "I'm so glad I'm out of there, it was soooo hot." She spoke as she grabbed Emil's hand. "Onward to Taco Bell!" She claimed.

"Taco Bell! Taco Bell! Taco Bell!" Sophia chanted.

"No, no Taco Bell. McCall hall, bed. Sleep."

"But I want a tacooo." Lili whined.

"Me too, and one of those freeze-y things."

"Oh those are so good!" Lili looked at Emil, tugging on his arm. "Can we go? Please? Please? Please?"

"Fine. Taco Bell, and then McCall hall."

"No." Lili said and stopped in front of Emil. She reached up to tenderly grab his face. "Chester hall. I want to be with you." She spoke in a quieted voice.

Emil looked down at her, his face starting to heat up. "Lili, I think it's best if you just stay in your dorm." He said to her. Then again, his roommate was rarely in the room. He mostly stayed with his girlfriend in her room.

She shook her head. "No. I don't want that." She said using hand gestures. "I want you, and Taco Bell. That's what I want. Besides Sophia said it would be okay if I started spending more time with you." She spoke, whispering the last part and leaning in close to him.

"Just let her spend the night with you Emil. It's just a night." Sophia said.

Emil thought for a little bit longer. He hadn't envisioned Lili staying over for the first time at his dorm, drunk. "You can stay the night." He said.

Lili squealed and hopped in his arms excitedly, which made Emil catch her quickly so she wouldn't fall.

"Thank you Emil." She said and buried her head in his neck.

"No need to thank me." He said carrying her back to the car.

Once they got to the car, he helped Lili in the front seat, buckling her up and then climbing into the driver's seat. He looked back, finding Sophia slipping in the back seat and putting on her seat belt. She looked up at Emil and pointed at him. "Safety first." She told him nodding.

Emil just shook his head and drove off to the nearest Taco Bell.

"I can't believe I'm a Kappa now." Sophia said looking up at the car ceiling. "And I'm drunk. I'm a drunk Kappa, and I've never been happier."

Lili looked back at her. "I'm happy for you, you deserve it more than anyone." She said.

"Stop you're gonna make me cry."

"Oh! I know what will make you laugh." She said and grabbed Emil's fake I.D, showing it to Sophia.

Sophia burst into a fit of giggles. "Can we start calling you Nathaniel now?"

"I don't even use that stupid I.D because I barely drink anymore. Mathias gave me that as a 'going-away' present."

"That's nice of him." Lili said taking the I.D. and looking at it. "What a handsome boy." She said and held it to her chest in admiration.

Emil glanced over at her before looking back at the road. "You can keep it if you like it that much."

"Oh my God really?"

"I told you I don't use it. You can have it."

Lili looked at him for a long time. "It's not as good as the real thing." She said and put the card in her wallet. "I'm gonna look at it every time I miss you."

Sophia poked her head from the back. "He gave you his fake I.D, that's so sweet and romantic...I wanna be the flower girl."

"Sophia shut up." Emil said looking at her through the rear-view.

.

.

.

"Thanks for the Taco Bell Emil! Goodnight Lili!" Sophia said as she walked towards McCall hall.

Lili waved as she walked hand-in-hand with Emil. "Good night Sophia! I love you!"

"I love you too!"

* * *

Lili looked at herself in the mirror with Emil's t-shirt and boxers on. She looked so cute in his clothes. She took a picture of herself in his clothes on her phone. This was a good night. She was with Emil, wearing his clothes, she had Taco Bell. This was a great night.

Lili left out of the bathroom, where she found Emil pulling off his shirt. He was so thin, with some muscle definition, though it wasn't much. But Lili didn't really care about stuff like that, she liked him anyways.

Emil had noticed her by the time he slipped on his pajama shirt. "Hey, I'm glad my stuff fit on you."

Lili smiled as she reached to wrap her arms around his neck. "Yeah, I'm glad they fit too. I look cute in them." She spoke looking up at him.

"Can't argue with that." He said, his arms reaching around her waist. "Did you have fun tonight?"

She nodded, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I had more fun with you there. Thanks for coming. Did you have fun too?"

"Yeah I had fun. Absolutely thrilling having to pull you off a bar and carry you over my shoulder."

Lili giggled. "Shut up." She told him before leaning in close to Emil. "Kiss me." She whispered to him.

Emil pulled her close and leaned in to Lili.

Suddenly, she paled and gagged, covering her mouth before running back into the bathroom to vomit. She collapsed on the floor, still vomiting in the porcelain bowl, hugging it tightly.

Emil went in after her, kneeling down next to her and rubbing her back. It was bound to happen sooner or later, though Emil wished it happened a little more later, they had been a little busy at the moment. "You okay?" He asked once she seemed like she was done.

"Yes, I'm okay…" She answered weakly. "Can I have a cold towel, and a toothbrush?" She said before leaning over and throwing up more.

.

.

.

Once she was done vomiting, she brushed her teeth and climbed into bed. Throwing up had made her lose her appetite.

Emil had climbed into bed with her. Even if it was a twin size bed, they had fit just fine in it. Emil pulled her close, rubbing her back. "You feel better now that you threw up?" He asked.

"Yeah, a little. I'm really drunk I'm sure." She said with a small laugh. "Emil?"

"Hm?"

"You like me right?"

"You wouldn't be in my arms if I didn't."

"Okay good, because if I'm too hung over to go to the aquarium with you tomorrow, at least I'll know the answer."

That made Emil laugh. "Go to sleep Lili."


	9. Chapter 9

Lili rolled over in bed when she heard a phone chirping in the background. She groaned. "Emil answer the phone." She muttered pulling the covers over her head.

"Not my phone." Emil said rolling over himself.

She sighed. "Well can you bring me my phone?" Lili felt awful. As in, terribly awful. She thought she had it bad when she got pneumonia when she was ten, a hangover at eighteen certainly took the cake.

Emil climbed out of bed and ran over to the bathroom to grab Lili's still ringing phone. He gave it to her in her open hand.

Lili answered the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?" She spoke quietly over the phone.

"Lili! Why haven't you answered my calls?" Vash screamed over the phone.

Instantly Lili pulled the phone away from her ear. Not this right now. Please not this right now. "I'm sorry Vash, I was asleep. And stop screaming, you'll run your blood pressure up this early in the morning." She muttered over the phone.

"How could I possibly stop screaming when my baby sister three hours away from me isn't picking up my calls?"

Again, she pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the time. "Well because it's eight A.M on a Saturday and people sleep in. I don't even get up this early on Saturdays at _home_." She spoke as she held her aching head.

Vash was silent over the phone. He knew she was right. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm getting worried again. I hadn't meant to call this early, alright? I just wanted to see what you were doing, I haven't talked to you in a while."

Lili sighed. Vash was still her brother, and under all the yelling and obsessive tracking he does with her, it's all out of love. He actually does miss her. "I know you're getting worried, but I'm fine. Okay? You shouldn't have to worry. If there's a problem, you'll know first."

"Alright. I'll let you go back to sleep."

'Oh thank God.' She thought to herself before speaking again. "Okay, I love you. I'll talk to you soon okay?"

"Okay. I'll talk to you then."

With that Lili hung up the phone and dropped it back on the bed. She covered her head up with the covers. "I was on the phone way longer than I wanted to be." She muttered to herself. "Emil…" She called in the room.

A few moments later he came out of the bathroom. "You need something?"

"Yes, something for my head. Please?"

Emil shuffled around a few moments and managed to get Lili some medicine and a cool glass of water. "Here, this should help."

Lili pulled the cover from off her head, and took the medicine, drinking the whole glass of water behind it. "What happened last night?"

Emil shook his head. "You may want to watch some snapchats, and check your wallet." He said to her.

Lili covered her face in embarrassment. "Was it that bad?"

"If it's any consolation, it was cute too. Do you remember anything?"

She sat up against the bed. "I just remember, wanting to be with you." She spoke looking up at him.

Emil gave a half smile and climbed back in the bed with her, and Lili made herself comfortable by resting her head on his shoulder. "You're not mad at me or anything, are you?"

"No, I'm not. Why would I be? I still had a great time last night. You had a great time last night. It was nothing worth regretting." He said and wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her arm comfortingly. "And I know hangovers are really shitty, so if you want to stay in instead of going to the aquarium, we can rain check."

Lili looked over at him, smiling before moving to lay her head in his lap. She looked up at him. "You know, I never met someone I liked as much as I like you Emil. I never had a boyfriend, not even a secret one from my brother. I didn't think boys noticed me in high school, I was always so quiet, and kept to myself." She spoke.

Emil looked down at her shrugging. "You didn't have to say much for me to notice you."

Lili smiled at him, and reached up to pull him down to her, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

Emil felt a chill go up his spine when he felt his lips pressed against Lili's. When she pulled away, he looked down at her with a small smile. "You know, I know your brother said no boys, but—"

"Yes." Lili replied.

Emil laughed a bit. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes Emil, I will be your girlfriend."

"...Okay, maybe you did know what I was going to say."

* * *

Sophia had managed to climb out of bed, and head over to Chester hall to check on her roommate who hadn't called her all day. She went up to Emil's room and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, Emil opened the door. He smirked leaning on the door frame. "Can I help you?"

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "Where's my roommate?"

"Safe."

Sophia balled up her fists. "You tell me where she is right now, or I'll have to fight you. And believe me, I know how to fight, and I'm going through separation anxiety right now."

Lili poked her head over Emil's shoulder and smiled at Sophia. "Hi." She said waving.

Instantly Sophia pushed Emil out of the way and hugged Lili tightly. "What is your problem running off with the boy you like and leaving me drunk and all alone?" She whined.

Lili laughed hugging her back tightly. "I'm sorry, I was very hungover this morning. I don't even know where my phone is."

"Well you should so you can see all the snaps the girls took of you, and the ones I took of you."

Lili winced. "Still haven't gotten around to that, still very embarrassed believe it or not."

"Why? They were so cute and you looked like you were having so much fun." Sophia took out her phone and went to her snapchat story. "Here, just look." She said.

Lili took the phone, and watched Sophia's story from last night. It was snaps of her singing and dancing. "Oh dear." She spoke. "Was I singing Frank Ocean? I was singing Frank Ocean." She said before shaking her head and laying back down in the bed, covering her face.

"Yeah, apparently you like him a lot." Sophia said.

She never told anyone that, mostly because not a lot of people expected her to listen to him, but she loved him. It was even her favorite song, which made her look more like a drunk, excited idiot. "Ugh I looked like such an idiot in front of everybody." She spoke into the pillow before taking a deep breath. "And also this pillow smells like you and I like it a lot." She said looking over at Emil.

"Hey it was nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone loved singing with you and hearing you sing and dance on the bar. It was fun, and made the party even more fun….Until someone wanted to play drunk patrol and pull you off the bar." Sophia said looking at Emil with her eyes narrowed.

Lili shrugged. "Maybe it was a little fun, but it doesn't make me feel any better." She said and looked around, looking for her phone and going through it once she found it. It had been pictures and snaps of she and Sophia singing along to all the songs that came on last night. She smiled even more when she found the picture of herself in Emil's clothes. She looked so happy with that drunk smile on her face.

Emil looked at the picture as well, smiling when he saw it. "I want this as my lock screen." He said with a small laugh.

She looked up at him swatting at him. "No! I'm not even sober in this picture!"

"So? Doesn't make me like it any less."

"...Fine. But I want a nice one of us, like a really nice one." She said putting her phone in his hand.

Sophia looked at the two of them. "So I take it that the two of you are..?"

"Actually dating, yes."

Sophia squealed as she pulled Lili into a hug. "Your first boyfriend! This is so exciting, I'm so happy for you!" She said happily.

Lili laughed. "Yeah, it's something new, but I like it a lot." She said looking over at Emil with a small smile.

"Are you still going to the aquarium?"

She shook her head. "No, we had decided to go another time, and just keep each other company for the day."

"Aw that's sweet. Well I just came to check on you, and see if you were okay. I'll leave you guys to yourselves." Sophia spoke heading to the door.

Lili ran after her. "Don't be silly, we're all still friends. You can still be around us."

"I know, but it'll be nice to have the room for the weekend while you're in here."

"Weekend? Who's staying for the weekend?"

"What, you thought you were just going to come back to the room?" Sophia spoke before laughing. She opened the door and looked back at Lili. "Besides, you wanted to make time for him, time's a-wastin'." She said before walking out of the room.

Lili sighed and turned back to Emil before shrugging. "I guess you've got me for the weekend."

Emil pulled her close, and placed a hand under her chin. "We're going to need a weekend for all the things I'm going to do to you." He said with a smirk.

Lili looked up at him before softly booping his nose. "My brother was right, boys only think about sex." She said before waving him off.

* * *

"So, your brother never let you do anything?"

Lili used her chopsticks to pick up her lo mein noodles. "If by 'anything' you mean not date and not go to parties. I still went to prom, and homecomings, and other school activities with my friends. I had sleepovers and birthday parties. I just never had a boyfriend, and I couldn't go to any after parties and things like that." She said and ate what she collected on the chopsticks. "What about you? Lukas not as strict?"

Emil shrugged. "He's definitely the more strict one out of the two. They didn't care if I dated, and I was more so sneaking out than asking to go to parties."

"Such a bad boy." Lili spoke shaking her head.

"I know, I know, terrible Emil, but it was easy. I had my own car, I knew when they went to bed, it was perfect...until I got too drunk to drive home. Then I'd call Mathias to come and get me. Never told Lukas about those times."

"And to think the most rebellious thing I did in high school was listen to music my brother didn't approve of."

"Of course, I'm not like that anymore. That was when I was sixteen, and now I'm nineteen and I feel as though I am old enough to not make such mistakes and focus on college work. That's why I barely go to parties now. I went to too many in high school, got boring after a while." He spoke in between eating his meal.

Lili shrugged. "Good way to look at it. Get all of the partying tendencies out before you get to college so you can focus on your studies."

"Yeah, but you've never done this stuff before, you could probably do way more stuff in college than I ever could in high school. You're in a sorority, went to your first party, got drunk, had your first hangover, got your first boyfriend, you're starting it off pretty good."

"Starting it off by disobeying my brother. Seems great." Lili muttered.

"Well you know yourself better than anyone else. You know your limits and what you're comfortable with. Your brother said don't do drugs, so are you going to go out and do them?"

"No of course not."

"Well there you go. A limit right there. Would you ever drink again?"

Lili thought about it for a moment. "Maybe with you and Sophia, I don't think drinking at a party is cut out for me."

"And that's okay too. It's okay to have fun Lili, just not too much fun. I've seen _way_ worse than a girl dancing on top of a bar at a highschool party. With Sophia and I around, you can have as much fun as you want without getting carried away."

Lili looked up and smiled at him. "I'm glad to have friends as good as you two." How did Llil get so lucky as to find friends as good as them? Despite having disobeyed her brother's wishes and getting a boyfriend and getting drunk. College was fun. He didn't say anything about joining a sorority, Emil was extremely sweet to her, and he was the kind of guy Vash would approve of, and at least she was safe when she was drunk. She was having fun, and that's what she thought had mattered most.

"It's your turn." Emil spoke as he continued to eat.

"Oh right." She said before looking up in thought. "Okay, so out of all the girls you've been with or dated, including me, what is one thing we all have in common?"

"Huh, good question." He said. "Well I haven't had a lot of relationships, but a lot of hookups. You're actually my third girlfriend, but my body count is embarrassingly high. But, one thing you all have in common...small breasts."

"Small breasts?"

"Never been with a girl bigger than a 'C' cup. Not sure if that's out of preference or not honestly, but all of my girlfriends and past hookups have had small breast. I wouldn't mind being with a girl with big breasts, I just haven't been with one."

"Okay, well that's a little understandable. I thought it was going to be something fetish related; like blonde hair."

Emil laughed at that. "No, blonde hair doesn't get me off, sorry. I don't think I really have a type of girl I like, I just like girls with great personalities."

"Does that include all of your hookups too?" Lili asked.

"Eh, a majority of them yes. However, back then, with me being a horny high school boy, some of them I just really wanted to have sex with. But! I knew every girl's name I had sex with, and was decent enough to know something about them before just wanting to have sex with them."

Lili rolled her eyes. "Like that makes it any better."

"It does!" He defended. "I feel like a lot of people can't say that."

She shook her head with a small smile on her face. It was a little amusing to hear about Emil's past sex life. She didn't peg him as the hookup type. She'd have to ask him about the funny ones next time. "As a question."

"Alright...Since I'm your first boyfriend, what do you expect of me?"

"Oh, that's easy," She said and pointed one of her chopsticks at him. "I expect you to treat me with respect and cuddle with me a lot." She said with a curt nod.

Emil laughed. "The Queen has spoken."

"Oh and a better pet name too. Queens stress over things too much and age quickly because of it." She spoke with a wave.

He laughed more. "Alright a better pet name too."

"Do you want a pet name?"

"Oh no, God no. Lukas does enough of the pet names with me. He calls me Emi, as if Emil wasn't short enough. It's by far the stupidest, pet name I've ever heard. I hate it, I hate the sound of it. I just want to bury it down in the earth's core where it can never see the light of day again."

"But it's cute. I like it. Can I call you Emi?"

"Yes, yes you can." Emil spoke without hesitation.

Lili laughed. "If it's any consolation, my cousin calls me Lil, short for Lili of course. I think it's silly, but I let him call me it anyways."

"That would be a cool name for a talk show. The Lil and Emi Late Night Show."

"You're up all night with your favorite co-hosts, Lil and Emi!" Lili announced excitedly.

Emil raised his styrofoam cup. "To the Lil and Emi show."

Lili raised her cup as well. "To the Lil and Emi show." She said went to tap her cup against his, only to have Emil pull his back.

"Behind closed doors never in public."

"Deal." She said, and with that, tapped her cup against his.


	10. Chapter 10

Lili had pulled out her notebook and pens as she got ready for class.

Sophia, to the left of her, sat down in her seat smiling at her. "So, how was your weekend?"

She looked up at her, smiling some. "It was nice. I loved being around him." She spoke honestly.

"That's good. See? I told you a weekend with him would do you some good. Got a chance to get out all of your yearning of affection for one another and sexual frustration."

Lili shook her head. "We didn't have sex. We just talked, we talked a lot, and we cuddled a lot. That was it."

"Aw bummer. You'd think that with a full weekend you'd at least get his head between your legs or maybe—"

"Okay, that's enough of that conversation." Lili spoke cutting her off. "We're just going to wait. He doesn't want to rush me. He knows about my…"

"Virginity?" Sophia offered.

"Lack of sex life." Lili finished. "And he said he'd be willing to wait. He's in no rush at all. I am in no rush at all. Perfectly sorted." She said before seeing Emil come in with two cups of coffee. He gave a cup to her before sitting down to the left of her. "Oh, thank you Emil." She spoke. Getting her coffee had been a sweet gesture.

"It's nothing. I was thinking about you." He said as he got his things out for class.

Lili used the top of the coffee cup to hide her smile. She'd probably get over the sweet gestures and cute notions that came in a relationship, but right now, it had made her feel so giddy inside. Emil telling her that he was thinking about her made her heart soar, and the cup of coffee probably wasn't a big deal to him, but it was huge to her.

"Hm, you seem to be one cup of coffee short Emil." Sophia said looking at the two coffee cups.

"They ran out." Emil said flatly.

Sophia narrowed her eyes at Emil. "You mother—"

Before she could even finish her sentence Lili placed her cup of coffee on Sophia's desk.

"At least my roommate cares for me." She said picking up the coffee cup.

* * *

"We have a chapter meeting today but afterwards we can have lunch together?" Lili said looking up at him.

"If I'm not in class still. I have class during your meeting." Emil told her.

"Oh, well just text me when you're out of class."

"Of course. I'll see you two later." He said and leaned down to Lili to give her a quick kiss on the lips before leaving for his next class.

Lili smiled as she watched him leave, and turned to walk with Sophia.

Sophia shook her head, smiling some. "You're like a lovesick puppy. He gives you one peck on the lips and you're weak at the knees."

"I can't help it." Lili said holding her cheeks so she wouldn't see her blush. "It's all so new to me, and it's everything I wanted in a relationship. You know, when he gave me that cup of coffee and told me he was thinking about me, I felt like a princess. And I know people do that in relationships all the time, but it's never happened to me. Don't tell me you didn't feel like this in your first relationship."

"Nope. Not into relationships actually. I just like flings, being tied down is boring, and too many of my relationships end in heartbreak."

"Ah, I see. Friends with benefits kind of deal." Lili said nodding. "Well for you to only like flings you certainly intervened with Emil and I getting together."

"What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. Just because I don't like it for myself doesn't mean I don't like it for others." She said. "I'm going to my art class. I'll see you at the meeting later." With that, Sophia headed into the fine arts building. She briefly heard Lili call out a 'See you!' Before she went into the building and headed into her classroom on the second floor.

She walked in, pausing when she saw someone in her seat already. Sophia rolled her eyes and proceeded to take the seat next to the guy. Everytime she glanced at him, he was already looking at her. What a creep. A cute creep, but a creep nonetheless.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." She muttered.

The guy looked away embarrassingly. "Sorry, didn't mean to stare. Never seen a girl as beautiful as you." He said looking back at her.

Sophia looked at him, a bit surprised he said something like that to her. He didn't even know her name. But, without a reply, she looked away from him back down at her phone, uninterested in where this conversation would go.

The guy looked away for a moment before looking back at her. "You know, I would want a picture. I'm majoring in photography and I'd love to have a photoshoot with you."

"You're a photography major in a 2-D art class?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"There's more to 2-D art than just painting you know."

She shrugged. "You're right. I, however, am here for the drawing and painting element of this class."

"Art major?"

"Art education." She replied.

He smiled her. "A beautiful girl creating beautiful works of art."

"And we're back here again." She said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm more than just a pretty face you know." She said to him, in a slightly mocking voice to tease him from earlier.

He laughed at that. "I'm sorry. Sebastian, Sebastian Vargas." He said holding out a hand for her.

Sophia gave him a firm handshake. "Sophia. Sophia James." She said.

"Well Sophia James, I'm serious about doing a photoshoot with you. You'd make a good model." He told her.

A slow smile had creeped up on Sophia's face. "You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer." She said.

Sebastian ripped off a sheet of paper and scribbled down his number. "Just text me for when you're ready. Or for you, whenever you want to talk." He said with a smirk.

Sophia pulled the number towards her and looked up at him. "Just talk?"

* * *

"Good afternoon ladies, we're glad you could make it to this very important chapter meeting." Camille started. "Now that initiation has come to an end, you are all full members of Kappa Mu. Now it's time to get down to the real business. We have a lot planned and more this year. We have events that we must start planning as soon as possible, your dues are going to be due soon, and we have big/little week coming up.

"We're even planning our week long chapter retreat to Paris at the end of the semester. Upstairs posted in the foyer are openings on what you can sign up to help plan. The events we have coming up is our annual Kappa Mu/ Zeta Nu volleyball game, football tailgates, the eye candy auction, our Halloween bake sale, a team for the lip sync battle at this year's pep rally, restaurant fundraisers, the art auction, and a lot more. You can sign up for as many as you want, but just understand that some meeting times and practices may conflict with other meeting times, and they may possibly conflict with your own schedule. So be smart in what you're signing up for. What's been passed around to you today are your dues. They will cover your first semester, and must be paid the end of October."

Lili and Sophia looked at the papers, their eyes widening.

"Oh my God." They whispered simultaneously.

_Pledge fee: $100.00_  
_Initiation fee: $160.00_  
_National dues: $184.57_  
_Entertainment & social events: $75_  
_Liability insurance: $15_  
_Technology fee: $12.50_  
_Vending machine income: $37.50  
_ _Telephone: $50_

_Total: $634.57_

"I know some of you ladies are looking at your dues with a lot of caution, but this is what goes into Kappa Mu. It costs to keep our house up, to go on summer mission trips, and week long retreats to Paris. We are very strict about our payments, and failure to pay your dues will result in dismissal of the chapter. There are job openings on campus that will help you pay for your dues, being apart of Kappa Mu will also help you in getting fundraisers and donations at various locations around town. It may seem out of reach now, but with two months to prepare for payment should be enough time."

.

.

.

"Lili what are you signing up for?"

No reply.

"Lili?"

Still no reply.

"Lili? Hello?" Sophia said as she snapped her fingers to get her attention.

Lili blinked seeing the fingers being snapped between her eyes. "What? Oh sorry." She said shaking her head. "I spaced out, thinking about the dues. I was going to do the volleyball game."

"You play?"

"I did in junior high school, and Vash made me play on this intramurals team when I was in high school, so I did pretty good." She said with a shrug.

"That's cool. I was probably going to do the art auction. Maybe I could donate some pieces I've painted over the years."

Lili nodded. "Should we do one together?" She asked looking at her.

"Yeah of course. What works out for both of our schedules?" She asked.

"What about the Halloween bake sale?" Lili offered.

"Eh, not much of a baker. Ooh what about the lip sync?"

"I have class during the practices."

Sophia frowned. "Okay….Oh! What about the Eye Candy auction? Wouldn't that be fun?"

Lili shrugged. "Getting auctioned off for dates? Sounds weird really."

"You don't have to be a model, maybe you can just do tech work or something in the booth...But it would be fun if you were a model."

She thought about it for a split second before realizing that she didn't even care, and shrugged. "You know what, you talked me into Kappa Mu, what's stopping me from being a model?" She spoke sarcastically.

Sophia squealed and hugged her. "I can't wait! It'll be so much fun!" She said excitedly.

Lili shrugged her off and wrote her name down on the list. "Let's go, I'm ready to go to lunch."

"Ready for lunch, or ready to see Emil?"

"Both."

Sophia laughed as she wrote her name down as well. "Well come on, don't want to keep him waiting."

* * *

Lili sat down next to Emil, and Sophia sat across from them both. "How was your class?" Lili asked Emil.

He shrugged. "It was good. Still questioned why I even went, but it was good I guess. How was the meeting?"

Lili also shrugged. "It was good, it made me question why I even listened to Sophia in the first place about joining a sorority, but it was good."

"It's not my fault, how was I supposed to know?" Sophia defended.

"Oh I don't know, I figured you would have known since you've done such extensive research on it." Lili said narrowing her eyes.

"What did Sophia do this time Lili?" Emil asked.

"She's successfully backed us into a financial corner of either paying $634 in dues or being dismissed from Kappa Mu."

Sophia pouted. "You make it sound so harsh. It's not like you're the only one paying it, we both have to pay that much. And it's two months Lili. I've got some money saved up from from summer art commissions, you've got money from lifeguarding over the summer—"

"Which isn't near enough money to pay off dues, are they really going to hire anyone at the beginning of the year where everything is mostly covered? Especially freshman? We're probably going to get one day out of the week if we work anywhere on campus. Charlie told you you were on your own if you wanted to be in a sorority, and Vash doesn't even _know_ I'm in a sorority. There's absolutely no way out of this Sophia."

Sophia sighed and sat back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling in defeat. "I finally get into Kappa Mu, and I'm gonna get kicked out because I can't afford it. Incredible." She said.

Emil shook his head. "That's a lot of money in a short amount of time." He said. "You know, Mathias sold pot in college to pay for tuition."

Lili couldn't help but smile at the idea. "While that idea is funny, believable, and slightly expected, I personally feel very much against it. After all, my brother did say no drinking, no boys, and no drugs. I'm sure I should probably draw the line at selling drugs."

Suddenly, Sophia sat up, surprising the both of them. "But, what if it's not drugs we're selling?"

"Sophia where are you going with this?" Lili asked slowly.

"Lili, I know how to make sugar shine." She said as if that was the answer to life itself.

"What's that?" Lili asked curiously.

"No." Emil said firmly before looking at Lili. "Tell her no, you're not selling sugar shine."

"Um, excuse you," Sophia said pushing Emil away from Lili. "She's an adult, and can make her own decisions." She turned back to Lili. "Lili, sugar shine is a form of quickly made moonshine made with active yeast. I know how to make it, I've been making it for years with Charlie. We can make it and sell it on campus and get our dues like that."

"Sophia, we can't sell illegally homemade alcohol." She said shaking her head.

"Well how else do you expect us to make the money Lili? You're good at math and financing, you can keep up with the money. I'll make the product. How about this:We need roughly 700 dollars a piece, so 1,400 dollars together. Gallons cost about 25 dollars, quarts are eight dollars. How much would we need to sell to make our goal?"

Lili thought about it for a moment. "We'd need either 175 quarts, or 56 gallons."

"And that's nothing to make Lili. Really, it a takes a week to ferment it through an eight gallon still, sell out on the weekends and do it all over again. We can do this."

Lili looked at Sophia, and then at Emil who looked away from her.

"Don't look at me. You're the adult here." He muttered.

"Don't be like that. Tell me what to do." She said grabbing his arm.

Emil sighed. "I told you, I'd support you in whatever you did. I told you my opinion already, but you're an adult so what you say goes."

She looked away from her boyfriend and over at her roommate. "Sophia?"

Sophia looked over at her roommate anxiously.

"Let's make some moonshine."


	11. Chapter 11

That weekend, Lili and Emil had traveled out, nearly an hour away to a brewing supply store in hopes of searching for a still. They reign successful on their trip, and headed back to campus with an eight gallon copper pot still in the foot locker Vash had given Lili for storage.

When Emil had parked in front of McCall hall, he looked over at Lili. "This is by far the stupidest thing you've ever done, and we've only been dating for two weeks."

Lili leaned over in her seat and gave him a sweet kiss. "I know you're upset, but I'll make it up to you okay? We'll go to the aquarium like we planned, and I'll take you out to wherever you want to eat too, my treat. I'll even spend the weekend over at your dorm, just please don't be too mad at me. Besides, you said you'd support me in whatever I did and my decision. But most importantly I want your fake id back in my wallet because it's mine, but thank you for using it so I could buy the still."

"Oh you mean the still in the back of my trunk in your foot locker?"

"Yes that exact same one." She said with a smile and hopped out of the car.

Emil popped the trunk and hopped out as well. He lifted the trunk and pulled out the lavender foot locker that held the still. "Man am I glad this thing has wheels." He said as he dragged it along into McCall hall. Lili helped him bring it up to the stairs and to their room. She unlocked her door and pushed it open. "Sophie?"

"In here." Sophia called from the bathroom. The door had been ajar.

Lili pushed the door open, where she saw Sophia in the middle of the floor stirring a large pot of cloudy liquid in a huge pot on top of a burner, with two large jugs sitting in the corner of the bathroom.

"Where did you get all of this stuff?" Lili asked surprised at the scene going on in their shared bathroom.

"Charlie brought it. He just left like 20 minutes ago."

"So he just casually brought you a pot, a burner and water jugs?" Emil asked.

"And an airlock. He's so sweet. He told me he wasn't going to bring this stuff at first. He kind of just surprised me when he showed up. I'm actually almost done making this wash. It'll be ready to ferment soon." She said.

"And your brother is just okay with letting you use his things to make this?"

"Pretty much. I mean, he was selling it illegally for years before he got an actual permit. He couldn't possibly see this as morally wrong when he's done the same thing. He just said don't get caught." Sophia said with a shrug.

"That sounds like something Mathias would say." Emil said rolling his eyes.

"How long is this going to take Sophia?" Lili asked curiously.

She shrugged. "Well I figured we ferment this throughout the week, and distill on the weekends, that way it'll be ready to sell by the evening. It'll probably make about five to six gallons of alcohol in total, and that would be…"

"150 dollars if we sell all the gallons in the weekend." Lili finished.

"Great. So about 150 a week, and in one month that would be…"

"$600 in a month."

"And double that would be 1,200. We can pay off the rest with our own money."

Lili nodded. "That sounds like a plan. Do you need any help?"

"No, I got it. It's really complicated, and a lot of numbers involved I don't want you to get them confused."

"Well, okay. I'm going to be with Emil for the rest of the day, and spend the night over there. So if you need me just call me." She said and started her way out the bathroom to grab her things.

"You're not going to volleyball practice? I thought you said it started today."

Lili paused and looked back at Sophia and then slowly turned around to Emil, who was already looking at her with a frown on his face. She walked over to him and grabbed his hands. "I forgot that we start practice for the annual volleyball game."

"I noticed you did." Emil said sharply.

"..But that doesn't mean I still can't come over tonight." She spoke moving his hands around excitedly. "Please don't be mad at me." She said as she continued to move his hands around.

Meanwhile Emil, with an unimpressed look on his face, looked away from her. "I'm not mad, go to practice. I'll wait for you."

She dropped his hands, pouting. "You won't even look at me."

Emil sighed before looking back at her. "I'm not mad, okay? I swear. A little agitated yes, but I'm not mad. I'll just see you tonight."

She smiled some. "Okay, but I want to see you smile before I go."

"You're kind of pushing it."

"No I'm not. I want to see you smile. No smile means no kiss."

Emil shook his head with a small laugh. "You are impossible."

Lili smiled at him and leaned in to give him a warm kiss. "Thank you. I'll see you tonight." She said and kissed him again. "That one was for being such a sweet and supportive boyfriend." With that, Lili gathered a few things in a bag before quickly leaving. "Bye Sophie! Bye Emil!" She called out as she walked out the door.

"Hey Emil, can you help me with this? It's kind of heavy." Sophia said standing up to grab the water jug.

"Sure." Emil said and grabbed the large pot of now clear liquid to take it off the burner.

Sophia brought over the jug and a funnel. She put the funnel in place. "Alright, now just slowly tip this in, try not to get it everywhere."

Emil lifted up the pot, and slowly started to pour the liquid down the funnel.

"You know she's trying right?" Sophia asked.

Emil shrugged. "Yeah. I can tell. I just...We had such a good weekend last weekend, and I just wanted to do it all over again. We didn't even do anything, we just talked. We talked like we were best friends. Like we've known each other for years..."

"I know, she never shuts up about you." Sophia said with a laugh. "And you know, that she'd rather be dedicating her time to you than to all of this. She's only doing it for me, and I know she is. Who wouldn't want to save $700?"

Once the pot was empty, Emil put it down to the side. "She's so selfless. It's what I love most about her." Emil said smiling, thinking about Lili. "I don't know. I guess I'm just starting to realize that I'm not going to see her as much as I want, and it sucks realizing that. Like it's a really shitty feeling."

Sophia shrugged. "You two just started dating, you'll find a medium that'll best fit the both of you. A kind of something that will work like clockwork. You'll have your finger over the call button to call her, and a call will come in from her right before you press the button. That kind of stuff happens in solid relationships. But, it takes a lot of time, and a lot of patience, and a hell of a lot of work to do that with someone."

Emil sighed. "You're right. I've got to work with her as much as she works with me."

"Exactly." She said before looking at her phone seeing that she had missed a text. "And I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got some business to take care of." Sophia popped on the airlock, and shuffled the water jug under the counter in the bathroom.

He recoiled hearing that. "You've got business to take care of? What, do you have friends outside of Lili and I?"

"Mmmm, you can say that." She said shrugging. "Now come on, I don't have time for talking anymore. You've got to go." Sophia said as she started pushing him out the bathroom.

"'You can say that?' Oh now I've got to know what's going on now." Emil said stopping right in his tracks.

"Emil, I don't have time for games. Go so I can lock up the room." She said pushing him harder, but he wasn't budging.

"Not before you tell me. Is this person kind of a friend?" He asked.

"Yes he's kind of a friend, and don't ask me anything else because I'm not answering it."

Emil smirked. "Don't worry, you answered everything. Go ahead, I don't want to make you late for your sex appointment."

Sophia grimaced and hit Emil's arm. "I really hate you sometimes."

"Need I remind you that I've only been in like 3 serious relationships including Lili and the rest were just one night stands? Yeah, I know what you're doing. You're not sneaky."

"Alright you found me out...But can I just tell you how good it was the first time? Because oh my _God—"_

"Nope, I'm not sticking around to hear this. Goodbye." Emil said before leaving out the room.

* * *

Lili stretched against the bleachers in the gym as she waited for practice to start. She looked at her phone, seeing if she missed any missed calls or texts. She checked Sophia's location, and from the looks of it, she was in a different hall. "What is she doing in Roody hall?" She asked herself. Last time she checked, it was a hall for upperclassmen. She shrugged it off and then checked Emil's location. He was at the store. Maybe he was out getting more food for his dorm or something.

Lili jumped when she heard the sound of a whistle blow. "Fall in line ladies!" Camille yelled.

Quickly, Lili put her phone away and went to go line up with the rest of the girls.

"Glad you all could make it to our first practice. This practice will set off how we're going to do at the game, and I'm just letting you girls know right now, that I never lose a game. Kappa Mu, doesn't lose this game. This is _our_ game. So I'm going to push, and push, and push until I see what I like. We practice every Tuesday and Friday from 8 p.m to 10 p.m. Don't be late, don't skip without telling me first, and definitely don't slack. Violate any of those and you and the rest of the team will suffer. Questions?"

No one spoke. Lili had personally felt a little excited for practice. She felt like it was she was doing intramurals again. Back then, she always left practice feeling accomplished, and loved getting close with the team. She looked forward to practices.

"No questions? Alright." Camille said and stood on the line with the girls. "50 suicides." She said and blew the whistle.

Lili started her exercise with the rest of the girls. She could do this, practice would be a breeze.

* * *

Sophia's back arched when she came, the orgasm intensifying when she felt Sebastian finish after her. She slowly started to relax as she just let the feeling wash through her body.

Sebastian pulled out of her, and tossed the soil condom in the trashcan. "Are you okay?"

Sophia sat up. "Yes. I'm fine, why do you ask that? I'm not a fragile doll." She said pulling the covers over her.

"I ask everyone I have sex with that. Just a habit." He spoke climbing under the covers with her.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll have to get used to it. But, just so you know, you don't have to do that with me." She said and pulled the covers off of her to look for her clothes.

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes, what do I need to stay over for?" She asked slipping on her panties.

He shrugged. "You don't want to talk? Grab something to eat? Go another round?"

Sophia pulled her shirt over her head. "No. Maybe. And tomorrow. Is that good enough talking for you?" She asked looking back at him.

"Okay, well you said maybe for getting something to eat. What are you in the mood for?"

She grabbed her pants. "A meal by myself." She replied.

"Why don't you want to grab something to eat with me? I'll pay for you if you want—"

"Sebastian, it's not about food. Don't offer me things, I'm only here for sex. I told you I'm not looking for a relationship any time soon. You offering to pay for a meal won't make me closer to you, and I don't want to be closer to you."

Sebastian winced. "Such harsh words." He said putting a hand on his chest.

"I'm sorry but, when I have sex with someone, I don't want a relationship out of it. Believe me if I wanted a relationship with you, I wouldn't have started having sex with you two days after meeting you."

"You ever think that maybe someone could be—"

"Different? Yeah no, don't try to think that either." She said and sat down on the bed, a hand on top of his. "Look, you're extremely handsome, and sweet. I'm just not into being in a relationship, and I won't be for a while. Just please try to understand that. If you can't we don't have to do this anymore. Just, try not to get close to me, and I won't get close to you. Deal?"

Sebastian looked over at her before sitting back on his headboard. "Deal."

"Thank you." She said and kissed his cheek. "I'm going now. I'll be over tomorrow." Sophia stood and headed towards the door.

"Alright, be safe." He called after her before she left out the door. Sebastian sighed as he leaned over and grabbed his boxers. "I guess I'll just go get something to eat myself." He said.

* * *

She could not do it.

Practice was not a breeze.

Her legs were dead, her arms were noodles, and she was absolutely pouring sweat. It had been a while since she felt like this, then again, it had been a while since she had practiced too. Over a year, what a wake up call that was. All she wanted to do now is shower, cry about how sore she was to Emil and then cuddle with him until she fell asleep. She texted him that she was on the way, to which he instantly replied back that he couldn't wait to see her. There her heart went again, soaring.

.

.

.

When she made it to Chester hall, she saw Emil waiting in the lobby for her. He pushed the door open for her. "You look terrible." He told her.

Lili rolled her eyes. "Thanks." She said and swatted at him. "I was hoping for a 'let me carry you upstairs because you look tired.'"

"Oh right, sorry. Let me carry you upstairs because you look tired." He said and swept her up, which made her yelp.

"Emil! I was kidding!" She said holding onto him tightly.

"Well you sounded serious, and also you smell as bad as you look."

"I know, just take me upstairs so I can shower." She muttered.

"I think I can do one better."

.

.

.

Emil brought her upstairs to his room and took her into the bathroom where there was a freshly drawn bath with a lot of bubbles, and scented candles.

Lili gasped when she saw the bathroom. "Oh my goodness Emi you did this for me?"

He shrugged. "I just figured with how late it is, you'd want—"

Lili cut him off with a kiss. "Thank you, thank you so much this is so sweet of you." She said to him and hugged him close. "I'm going to undress and get in. Will you keep me company?"

Emil had forgot what he was even saying. "Yeah of course. I'll keep you company while you take your bath." He said and let her down, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. "I'll tell you when to come in." She called from the other side of the door.

A smile had found its way on Emil's face. It was worth it. Going to the store and buying girly soap with bath salts and candles were totally worth it. Seeing how excited she was was always worth it. Emil waited against the door a few moments until Lili said it was alright to come in. He walked in, laughing when he saw how sunken down she was in the water. She was so cute. Emil closed the toilet seat, and sat down on the toilet so he could be close to her. "How does it feel?"

"It feels amazing, I never want to get out." She muttered resting her head against the tub. She glanced over at him. "I'm sorry I forgot about practice. Even though you weren't upset, I know you were agitated and I swear I'll make it up to you—"

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize or make it up to me. I'm sorry for getting so upset about it."

Lili narrowed her eyes. "Something's different about you. You're not the same Emi I talked to earlier."

"I'm a changed man Lil...Well no, but I think I'm pretty close. I talked to Sophie, and she just told me that you're trying really hard, and that effort isn't a one way thing. It takes a lot to get in sync with someone, and we're still working on it."

She leaned against the tub towards him, looking up at him and smiling. "You're right. I completely agree. With more time we'll get there. I know we will."

"Lil and Emi can do anything." He told her smirking some.

Lili grinned. "And don't you forget it." 


	12. Chapter 12

Lili sat in the bathroom, installing a fabric to cover where the fermenting alcohol was sitting under the bathroom vanity. It was pink with white frosted cupcakes on it. She thought it was adorable, and somewhat unsuspecting.

"Lili? I'm back." Lili heard Sophia say when the door started to open.

"I'm in the bathroom. Come check out this curtain I made." Lili called back.

Sophia stopped in the bathroom, pausing when she saw the new addition to their bathroom. "Good idea. But why did you pick something so ugly?"

Lili gasped in surprise. "Excuse you, I'll have you know that I liked it a lot. And I'll also have you know that it's very cute."

"Cute if we were putting on a puppet show behind curtains, not concealing fermenting alcohol under the counter."

"Oh so it has to _look_ like we're making illegal alcohol?"

"Of course not, but it could be something more adultish."

"Okay well if you want to change it, then you can. But I think it looks fine." Lili spoke and walked out of the room to go sit in her bed.

Sophia shook her head and opened up the curtains, glancing at the airlocks on top of the water jugs, then closed it back up to go sit in her bed as well.

Lili relaxed in her bed. "I never want to get out of this bed." She muttered rolling over. Wednesdays after all of her classes was nap time for Lili, and then go get something to eat with Emil for dinner. "Are you coming to get something to eat with Emil and I after my nap?"

Sophia shrugged. "Probably not, I may be busy."

"Oh right I forgot about your renewed sex life."

Sophia groaned. "How did you know too?"

"Well you've been going over to Roody hall a lot so I figured you were seeing whoever you're seeing there. And plus, Emil told me."

"Emil? That gossiping bastard."

Lili laughed. "It's not like I care. If you're happy, I'm happy."

"Meh, I'm alright. The sex is great, but the guy keeps trying to make passes at me. I tell him, I don't want a relationship, but he still keeps trying. If I'm not careful, I might just fall into his little trap of trying to date me, and that's the last thing I want."

Lili grabbed her phone. "How long has it been since you've dated someone?"

Sophia thought for a moment. "A little over a year."

"And you still don't want to date him?"

"It's not a matter of want, it's a matter of readiness. I'm not ready to date anyone. Do you have any idea how fragile I am?"

"Never thought you'd use such a word honestly."

"Well I am." Sophia spoke defensively. "And silly me thought it would be so swell to fall head over heels for a boy in high school, all while he ended up having a pregnancy scare with another girl. Not to mention that he was also dating _another girl_ that went to a different school. I was so incredibly hurt, and I've never felt more stupid."

Lili winced. "That's rough Sophie. I'm sorry that happened to you. You didn't deserve it."

"No one deserves it. No one deserves to get cheated on, and lied to. You feel it in your chest and it makes you want to throw up. So, it's not a matter of wanting him. I honestly would want him, and I kind of do want him, but I'm just not ready to be with him."

"Well take your time. If he's not patient with you, and doesn't want to wait for your feelings then he's not the one for you." Lili spoke.

Sophia nodded. "You're right. You are totally right Lili. But in the meantime while I'm sorting my feelings out, I'll just keep having this mindblowing sex with him." She said with a shrug.

"Good idea." Lili muttered before yawning. "Taking a nap." She said and pulled the covers up to her chin, slowly starting to fall asleep.

Line break

Emil sat next to Lili while Sophia sat across from them. "So what's new?" Emil asked the two.

Lili shrugged as she picked up her mandarin oranges. "After dinner Sophia and I have to go to this Eye Candy meeting."

"Oh right, I almost forgot. I can't wait honestly, I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun." Sophia spoke.

"What's it about?"

"Just some date auctioning thing for Kappa Mu girls." Lili spoke with a shrug.

"And you're going to be in it?"

"We're both in it Emil."

"Oh great." He said nodding and picking up his drink. "So random question, what would be a ballpark amount of how much I'd need to buy you?"

Lili rolled her eyes. "Emil, we're already dating. It would be such a waste to try to win a date with me when you can get them for free."

"Yeah, that's true, but that doesn't mean I want anyone else buying you."

"Don't be so possessive."

"I'd like to think of me being moreso selfish. I want you all to myself, and you don't need anyone else."

"Who said I needed anyone else?"

"Who said you could be in this auction?"

"Mom, dad, please stop fighting." Sophia chimed in.

"Excuse me?" Lili spoke defensively. " _I_ said I could be in the auction because it was _my_ decision. Not yours."

"You guys—"

"Oh right, I forgot, you're the adult here. Just as you can make the decision of selling moonshine to pay for your sorority dues, you can easily make the decision of being in an auction where another guy gets to buy you when you already have a boyfriend."

"Lili please don't—"

"You act like whoever buys me at this stupid auction is going to be my next boyfriend! I'm with you, blockhead! And what happened to supporting me in my decisions? Are they not good enough for you? Sorry the decisions I make don't please you."

"Emil stop—"

"I'm sorry too Lili, sorry that I am so surprised that I'd be supporting such stupid decisions!"

"Oh now all of my decisions are stupid? What, do you think because I'm so naive and you're so experienced that I can't make right decisions? I must be some stupid, naive girl to you."

"Well you're damn sure acting like one." Emil spat.

Lili recoiled before sighing and shaking her head. "You know what Emil, you're right. I am stupid, stupid enough to be dating a jerk like you!" She yelled at him and then stood up abruptly and leaving out of the dining hall.

"Lili wait!" Sophia called after her, but she kept walking. Sophia whipped around to Emil. "You know, I'm glad Lili's gone because she doesn't need to hear what I have to say to you."

...

Lili pushed the door open and started to make her way back to the dorm. She didn't want to do Eye Candy anymore, she just wanted to be alone. Who knew Emil was such a jerk? How could he say those things about her, and be okay with it? It really hurt her feelings. Lili quickly rubbed at her eyes. "Don't cry." She muttered to herself as she kept walking.

She didn't get it. Where did this come from? She had just been so happy on Friday because he had made her a nice bubble bath with scented candles, and now she was calling him a blockhead for being so possessive and selfish. She had even thought about having sex with him because she was feeling ready. Boys were dumb. Really dumb. Lili sat down on a nearby bench, and put her hands in her head as she started to sob.

"Lili?"

Lili looked up finding Camille standing above her in workout clothes. "Oh, hey Camille." She spoke looking back down.

Camille sat next to her. "Are you alright? Do you want to talk?" She asked and reached up to rub her back to help calm her down.

"I'm alright, I just...I just had an argument with my boyfriend, and it was the first one we've ever gotten in, and it was so stupid but he ended up hurting my feelings and I am just really sad right now."

"Oh Lili don't let him get you down. Boys are stupid, and have a hard time conveying their feelings sometimes. I'm sure he had a valid reason, but didn't know how to get his point across."

"So he just hurts my feelings instead?" Lili asked angrily.

"No no, it wasn't intentional. Look, sometimes arguments just mean that they care. You can have a screaming match all day with him, but what matters is that at the end of the day you still appreciate them for who they are and you forgive each other and vow to keep working on it. It's just apart of relationships."

Lili nodded. "I guess that makes sense. But I still want to be mad at him for a little longer for being such a…"

"Asshole?"

"Blockhead."

"Oh, well that was my next guess." Camille said with a laugh.

Lili laughed as well. "I know it's kind of weird, but ugh he just acts like a blockhead to me." She said and looked at Camille. "I'm glad you were here Camille, it was nice talking to you."

"I was just doing my evening run around campus. I was just at the right place at the right time. But, I'd do anything for a sister." She said and held her pinky out to her.

Lili smiled and wrapped her pinky around her's pressing her thumb against Camille's. "Anything for a sister."

Camille pulled her into a hug. "Don't let boys get you down, you're still a beautiful girl, and what they say does not define you."

Lili nodded as she hugged her back. "Thank you Camille. I should probably go, my roommate is probably worried sick about me." She said and stood up.

Camille stood as well. "Alright, well have a good evening Lili. Be safe." With a wave of goodbye, Camille jogged off.

"You too!" Lili called before heading to McCall hall.

Line Break

Sophia had opened the door to their room, where she found Lili in bed with pajamas on. "Hey, are you okay? You didn't come to the Eye Candy meeting."

Lili shrugged. "I don't think I wanna do it anymore."

Sophia frowned. "You let Emil talk you out of it?"

"A little, I kind of didn't want to do it anyways."

"Well we have enough people to get auctioned off, if you want you can do tech work since that's what you wanted to do originally. Would you still want to do that?"

Lili thought for a minute. "Yeah, I think I'd be okay just doing that. That way, we'd still be doing an event together."

"Have you talked to Emil?"

"No not yet. He's called me, and text me but I haven't said anything yet, I just don't know what to say to him right now."

"Well I said an earful to him about you. No one hurts my roommates feelings."

Lili smiled. "Thanks Sophie. I appreciate it. But, is it bad I miss him right now?"

Sophia sighed and shook her head. "No, it's not bad. If you want to go over there tonight you can, I won't be mad or anything."

She shook her head. "No I don't want to go over there right now. I'll just wait until tomorrow and pour my feelings out in the morning or something." Lili said.

"Alright. Do you feel a little better since you've blown off some steam?"

"Yeah, I actually ran into Camille. She talked to me and kept me company. It was nice talking to her."

"See and you even had someone to talk to." Sophia stepped on Lili's ottoman so that she was higher up and could reach her better. "I just want you to be okay. You know, this is your first boyfriend, and I'd hate to see him break your heart. And I'm not saying that it will of course, but I just don't want to see it happen." Then she reached up and hugged Lili tightly.

Lili hugged her back. "Thank you for caring about me so much Sophie. I'm really glad to have you as a friend. I'll be okay." And if things really go South, then she'd just have her brother to deal with it, and that would be the end of that.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, class had been weird between the three of them. Lili usually sat in between the both of them. But now it was Sophia that had been sitting in the middle. There was no shared cup of coffee, no morning kiss. Nothing. Granted, it felt weird to Lili, seeing as she was so used to this habit. But with them feuding like this, nothing had seemed normal.

After class, they all gathered their things and Lili had walked out following Sophia, but before she could make it fully out of the class, Emil grabbed her hand. "Can we talk?" He asked her.

"Mhmm." She said nodding and then looked back at Sophia. "I'm going to walk with Emil."

Sophia nodded. "Okay, see you later. Bye Emil." With that she left for her next class.

After Sophia left, Lili turned back to Emil. "Lead the way." She said with her free hand.

"Right." He said and lead her out the classroom, on the way to his next class.

Lili walked with him, her hand still in his. "And you said you wanted to talk? I'm not hearing anything."

"Uh yeah, I wanted to talk about yesterday...I know I can be a bit overprotective, but I really mean it out of good intention. I really do. I was upset that you'd think about being in a date auction, be willing to be bid on by someone else besides me, and then proceed to go on a date with them. But I understand that it seemed very belittling from the way I expressed my feelings."

"I agree, you hurt my feelings, and you made me cry."

"I know, and thinking about that makes me sick to my stomach. Lil I hate seeing you cry, and I never want to see you cry. Unless, of course, it's tears of joy. But, other than that, I'd never want to see you cry. And I'm sorry that I made you do that. I'm sorry about belittling you, making you feel bad about your decisions, and being an overall blockhead as you called me. I just don't want to see you get hurt, or get in trouble, because if you haven't noticed, what you're doing is really dangerous and very illegal. However, I told you that I wanted to support you in the things you do, and the decisions you make. I don't want to go back on that promise. So if you want to do Eye Candy still, I wouldn't care. I'd be there to support you, and also drive up the price purposely because you're worth every penny someone bids on you."

Lili looked over at him. "I forgive you, blockhead." She said with a small smile. "I get it sounds weird me going on a date with someone that's not you, but I'm just doing it because I thought it would be fun, you know? It's not going to be a date-date of course, I'm still with you. It's just apart of the auction. And I know that my decisions aren't the best or wisest decisions, but your support through it all makes it way easier. I really need it, and I really appreciate it Emi. You have no idea about the internal argument with myself. It's like having a little angel and devil on my shoulders all the time. 'What you're doing is wrong, but you're doing it for Sophie.' Or, 'Your brother would probably kill you and Emil if he found out about you dating, but he's cute and sweet and I like him a lot.' I get that one _a lot_."

Emil laughed a little. "I'm glad me being cute and sweet helps you reason with dating me."

"Well I don't know, last night I got a new internal argument: 'Break up with Emil, there are other boys that would support you in your apparent 'stupid' and 'naive' decision making.'"

"And did there happen to be a 'but' in there anywhere?" He asked curiously.

"'But at the end of the day, you still care about him. He's still a blockhead, but he's _your_ blockhead.'"

"I think you should listen to the angel. They sound right."

She shook her head. "That was definitely Satan talking to me, but you're in luck. Like always, I've decided to listen to the little devil. So, Lil is making an executive decision to bring Emi back to the Lil and Emi show, even if you weren't technically off the show."

Emil looked over at Lili smiling brightly. "It's good to be back."

"But!" She exclaimed. "But, Emi has to understand that Lil is very sensitive, and when you hurt her feelings, she cries. She cries a lot. Lil doesn't want her feelings hurt by Emi anymore."

"Emi will not hurt Lil's feelings anymore."

"And also Lil wants a kiss."

Emil leaned down and kissed her, and Lili wrapped her arms around the nape of his neck. She had felt herself lift off the ground, but she didn't care. Instead she just held on tighter and kissed him deeper.

A moment later Emil pulled away from her. "Can't get me this worked up before class Lil. I don't want to start something you said you wanted to wait on."

"You might not have to wait much longer." She said looking down at him.

"Really?" He asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Well, I've been thinking about it since you ran my bath for me last week. Very much an aphrodisiac by the way. I had actually been in the mood after it."

"And you didn't tell me?" He asked in disbelief.

"I was too shy to say anything." She said her face beet red. "I don't know how this kind of stuff goes okay? I don't know how to initiate anything."

"Okay, that's fine. Would it be okay if I started to initiate things?"

Lili slowly nodded her head.

Emil smiled some. "Alright then, we'll start slow, and see what you're in to. But tonight, I want to make up for being a blockhead, so come over okay?" Emil said putting her back on the ground.

"Mkay." She said nodding. "I should go. You have to get to class, and I have to get to class too."

"I'll see you soon." He said and leaned down, and gave her a sweet kiss.

Lili kissed him back, and then turned to walk to class. There was that familiar feeling again, there her heart went soaring once more.

* * *

Once Lili was out of class, she hopped up in her bed and laid down. She was so happy she made up with Emil, and expressed her feelings about trying to become more intimate. She felt like Emil would be a good person to lose her virginity to. He wasn't pushy, and he was very patient. She felt like she wouldn't regret losing it to him. Though thinking about it made for a nervous ball form in the pit of her stomach. What if she wasn't good? What if he didn't like it? What if it hurt? Lili looked over, seeing the door open and Sophia come in from class. "Hey, how was class?" She asked.

Sophia put her backpack down. "It was okay. Did you make up with Emil?"

"Yes we did, and I'm glad we're okay again." She said and rolled over on her back, looking up at the ceiling. "I told him that I was ready to get more intimate with him."

She looked over at her. "Really? You didn't even tell me that you were thinking about it."

"Well...I had been thinking about it a lot lately. He's just been so nice. He made me a bubble bath for me this weekend after practice, and it was the best bubble bath I've ever had. He even had scented candles."

"Scented candles? Definitely worth having sex over."

"It is, I was in the mood."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I was too shy to do anything. I asked him if he would keep me company during my bath, and he said he would mind, but I was honestly hoping that he'd be in the bath _with_ me. I don't know, I'm just not good at this kind of stuff. So he asks me if I was okay if he started initiating that kind of stuff, and I said that I would be okay with it."

"Look at you, gearing up for your first time with your first boyfriend, I can barely keep up." She said with a laugh.

Lili gave a shrug. "Yeah, it's exciting." She spoke blankly.

"You okay?"

"Well, I'm nervous. As in, extremely nervous about this. I don't want to mess anything up, and I want it to be enjoyable and romantic, you know?"

"Well let me tell you Lili, it's not what you see in movies. It's very uncomfortable, you may or may not need a lot of lube, and you'll probably end up laughing at some point. So it won't be the most romantic thing on earth, but you'll definitely remember it."

Lili groaned covering her face. "That didn't help." She said past her hands.

"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. But hey, you're losing it to Emil. He's experienced, I'm sure he'll take care of you, and it may not be as bad as an experience as some girls."

"Well it's happening tonight so I need you to really comfort me and tell me that it's not going to end up as bad as I think it is."

"Wait, you're going over there tonight?"

"Well he said he wanted to make up for being a blockhead to me, so he told me to come over."

Sophia looked at her, and a slow smirk crawled up on her face.

"What?"

"Nothing, you probably won't be losing your virginity tonight, but he's _definitely_ going to make up for being a blockhead to you."

* * *

Emil pushed his door open and led Lili inside, he tossed his keys on his desk and removed his jacket. He looked back, finding Lili standing in the middle of the room. "What's wrong?"

Lili walked up to him and looked up at him. "How are you going to make up being a blockhead to me? Because I told Sophia that you were going to make up being a blockhead to me, to which she replied that I probably won't be losing my virginity tonight but you'll definitely be making up for being a blockhead to me." She pointed at his chest. "So I'm asking you right now, Emil Steilsson, how will you be making up being a blockhead to me?"

Emil couldn't help but laugh some. "Well I can tell you that Sophie is definitely right, but as for what I'm going to do to you, I can show you better than tell you." He said and leaned down kissing her slowly.

Lili on the other hand, still wasn't impressed. "I. Need. Answers." She spoke in between kisses.

Emil picked her up. "You're about to get it." He said and laid her down on his bed. Emil slipped his shoes off, and climbed on top of her. "Relax, okay? I just need you to lay back and relax and let me take care of you." He said.

Lili looked at him and sighed. "Alright, if you say so." She told him and laid back on the bed trying to stay calm, but she absolutely could not stay calm. She was so nervous, even though she trusted him. The first time they were doing something like this, and she wanted it to be good. 'Just relax, it'll be okay.' She thought to herself when Emil pulled off her shoes.

Lili felt a ball form in the pit of her stomach when he started placing butterfly kisses there. She felt his kisses travel down her stomach to her hips. Her breath hitched when he unbuttoned her pants and started to pull them down along with her underwear. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. Her heart was beating fast, and her hands felt clammy. Why was she so nervous about this? He hadn't even done anything to hurt her, and yet she felt so scared.

Lili made an audible gasp. Her back arched and her eyes closed. From then on out, it was pure pleasure.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, Emil rolled over, hearing his phone ring his alarm to get ready for class. He grabbed his phone, and looked over at Lili, who was still sleeping peacefully. "Lil, you have class in an hour you have to go." He said shaking her gently.

"Not going." She muttered rolling over.

"Alright, well I have to get ready for class." He said to her and started to climb out of bed, but was stopped by Lili grabbing his hand.

"I want you to do it again."

Emil quietly laughed and leaned down to her ear. "Let me shower first." He muttered.

His warm breath tickled Lili's ear, and made her laugh quietly. "Don't take long." She replied.

"I won't." He said and kissed her cheek before getting up and going to the bathroom.

The smile hadn't left her face as she rolled on her back to look up at the ceiling. He had certainly made up for being a blockhead last night. She bit her lip as her mind replayed last night's event. What was she nervous about? It was amazing, something she's never experienced before, and it was absolutely amazing.

Lili heard a cellphone ringing, her cellphone, on the desk. She leaned over and answered it. "Good morning Sophie."

"Good morning. Where are you? You're usually back by now to get ready for class."

"I'm not going. I'm still in Emil's bed." She spoke with a small laugh.

"Oh? How was last night?"

"I can't go into much detail, but it was amazing. You were right, he made up for being a blockhead."

"I told you!" She said excitedly. "Listen, since you're not going to class, the moonshine is done fermenting, I'm about to distill it now, and we can do a little taste test from the first gallon. How does that sound?"

"Great, I'll be over when Emil leaves for class."

"Alright. I've been telling people all week about it, so hopefully we'll make some really good money." She said.

"Me too, I'm excited." She said before hearing the shower turn off and smiling some. "I'll see you when I get over there."

"Mkay, I'll see you then." She said.

"Alright, see you." Lili spoke and hung up the phone.

* * *

Lili pushed her dorm room open, where Sophia was at her desk drawing. "Hey." She said walking over to her and leaned down to hug her.

Sophia looked up at Lili, grinning. "Look at that glow."

"Glow?"

"After-sex glow. It's a thing. I'm surprised you didn't go to class actually."

Lili climbed in her bed. "I would have went, I was feeling up for it the second time."

"Second time?"

"He did it again before he left for class." She said and fell back on the bed. "Sophia, I feel amazing right now. I feel so good, and it _felt_ so good. I didn't know I could moan that much." She spoke looking up.

"What a great start to your sex journey. Man, I wish my sex journey started with oral."

"What did you start with?"

"Anal."

Lili looked up at her.

"I'm just kidding." She said laughing. "It was just regular sex, nothin' special." She said shrugging.

"Now that I've gotten over the nervousness, and how good it makes you feel, it makes me want to do so much more with him. And knowing Emil, he's not going to say no."

"You get good head once and want to just conquer the sex world all of a sudden, eh?"

Lili laughed. "Well now I'm intrigued, and I just want to see what else there is out there."

Sophia shook her head. "I admire your curiosity. At least you've got someone willing to explore with you, that's what matters." She spoke standing up from her desk. "You want to check out the still?"

"Sure." She said and slipped off her bed going into the bathroom with Sophia. The still sat on top of the counter, the burner going under it. On the floor was a drip, which was slowly dripping a clear liquid into a small cup. "So is this the alcohol?"

"No, that's the other by-product stuff, like acetone, ethanol, undrinkable stuff that drips out first. When it's done dripping out, it'll be alcohol then."

Lili slowly nodded. "And you know when it's going to stop dripping the undrinkable stuff?"

"Yes, yes I do."

Lili nodded again. She hadn't known how Sophia was so good with this stuff, sure her brother showed her how to do this, but her own brother knew everything and more about guns and she knew absolutely nothing about them.

"By the time the first gallon is done, Emil should be out of class. We'll all taste test it together when he gets out." She said.

"And how long is this going to take by the time the gallons are full?"

Sophia shrugged. "6 or 7 hours I'm sure. But it'll definitely be done by the time people are going out for parties and want to start pregaming. But I'm so excited to taste it because this is my first batch I ever made by myself."

"Really? You really looked like you knew what you were doing." She said.

"Yeah I mean to me it's easy, but I just get nervous when Charlie isn't here to help me, but I don't know about this time, I think he'd be proud." She spoke nodding in approval at herself and the little set up she had in their bathroom.

…

"I'm here for alcohol." Emil spoke as he walked in the room with Lili in tow.

"You're just in time." Sophia said poking her head out of the bathroom.

Emil and Lili walked inside the bathroom, where Sophia was trading out jugs to collect more alcohol and put the full gallon on the counter. She had three small shot glasses set up and she poured the moonshine in the cups. "One for you, one for you." She spoke giving out the glasses. She held hers up in toast. "Cheers lads."

"Prost." Lili spoke happily.

"Skál." Emil spoke last holding his glass up.

With that, they took the shots.

Instantly, Lili started to cough, Emil nodded in surprise, and Sophia cringed some.

"This is delicious, I want another shot." Emil said putting the glass down.

"Why is it so strong?" Lili asked giving a few paps to her chest.

"This is a good batch. I made a good batch, I can't believe it." Sophia said in disbelief and turned to look at her two friends. "You're not getting another shot Emil, and the stronger the moonshine, the quicker you get drunk. And that's what people are looking for." Sophia capped the gallon and put it to the side. "One down, six more to go." She said. "At this point it's just a waiting game."

* * *

"Alright, I'm heading to practice." Lili said grabbing her bag.

"When's the game again?" Emil asked.

"Next week." She said and stepped on her ottoman and leaned over to kiss him.

"Are you staying over?"

Lili shrugged. "Not sure yet." She went into the bathroom, where Sophia was capping the last gallon of moonshine. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"I'm okay. I'll probably just tell Emil to take me to deliver some gallons. Some people are already calling me for a gallon so that's good. But we've only got seven, so whoever texts me first gets a gallon."

"Tell everyone that we've only got seven gallons, it'll really raise the supply and demand bar. Maybe you'll get some people to buy it for double the price due to shortage."

"Good idea."

"And I'm probably going to spend the night over Emil's after practice."

"Mkay I'll just see you in the morning then." Sophia said looking back at her with a smile.

Lili smiled back and waved her goodbye. She looked over at Emil still laying in her bed on the phone. "Sophia is going to need you to drive her around to make deliveries."

"Alright, if we're out late enough I'll pick you up from practice. And this weekend we're going to the aquarium."

"Aquarium this weekend, got it." She said nodding and headed towards the door. "Bye Sophie, bye Emi." She called out before she left.

"Bye!" They called simultaneously.

"Emil?" Sophia called from the bathroom.

"Yeah?"

"Who's Emi?"

"...Fuck."


	15. Chapter 15

Lili snuggled close to Emil as she continued to sleep. When she heard her phone ringing, she sighed quietly and reached over to grab it. "Hello?"

"I hope you're up, and I hope your room is clean. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Her brother said over the phone.

Lili popped up from the bed. "You're on your way here?" She asked over the phone.

"It's family weekend, did you forget?"

"No, I didn't forget. I'm just going to straighten up my room a little more before you get here. I'll see you soon." She told him.

"Alright, see you soon." With that he hung up the phone.

Lili pulled off the covers and started slipping her clothes on hastily.

Emil rolled over so that he was facing Lili. "I take it we're not going to the aquarium this weekend?"

Lili looked up at Emil frowning. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot about family weekend. Isn't Lukas coming?"

"Nope, he thinks it's just a waste of money and time."

"Well my brother does not, so the aquarium is going to have to wait." She said.

"Alright fine."

Lili paused for a moment. "Actually, Vash doesn't know about you, so it's best if you just didn't come around this weekend."

Emil gave an exasperated sigh, falling back on the pillow.

Lili rolled her eyes. "It's a weekend. I'm over here every weekend, it will not kill you."

"It's not the matter of killing me or not. I was fine with not going to the aquarium this weekend, but now I can't even see you for the weekend."

"Emil, I don't have time to argue with you. Just please don't come around this weekend…"

"I'll make it up to you, okay?" They both said simultaneously.

Lili clenched her fists."You know what? Fine, you win. You want to spend the weekend with me? You can spend it with me and my brother, and _you_ can deal with him too. We'll have breakfast in about an hour, so meet us at the dining hall."

"See? Now was that so hard?"

"It's a lot harder than you think. Now I really have to go. I'll see you at breakfast." With that, Lili kissed him and ran out the room with her bag.

.

.

.

Lili burst into the room. "My brother is coming, and we have to clean now!" She yelled and ran to her side of the room to make her bed.

Sophia popped up out of bed running to the bathroom. "You couldn't have told someone before he came?" She asked as she put the fermenting jugs under the curtain. She picked up the still and put it into Lili's footlocker.

"Don't worry I already had to hear it from Emil, who wants to meet my brother." She spoke as she pushed her chair in and straightened up her desk. "So I said okay, he can deal with him if he wants. But I don't want him crying to me about how crazy he is."

Sophia grabbed the burner and put it into the footlocker as well. "Maybe he won't be that bad."

"Oh it's going to be bad."

"Look we both know Emil is a great guy, he's not someone Vash wouldn't approve of."

"Vash doesn't approve of anyone." She spoke and opened her desk drawer, finding a wad of cash in it. "Sophia what is this money doing in my drawer?"

"It was what we made from last night. $300. The supply and demand thing worked, someone paid like 50 bucks for just one gallon."

"Oh my God." She muttered as she counted the money.

There was a knock on the door.

Lili jumped and put the money in the back of the drawer while Sophia was busy locking down the footlocker. Lili walked over and opened the door. "Big brother!" She exclaimed throwing her arms around him.

Vash laughed as he hugged his sister tightly. "Did you miss me?" He asked still hugging her.

No matter how strict, protective, or just simply insane Vash was, he was her brother. She loved him, and seeing him had made her heart happy. "Of course I did. Come in, meet my roommate." She led him inside. "You didn't get a chance to meet her during move in day, this is Sophia."

"Sophia James nice to meet you." Sophia said holding a hand out to shake.

"Vash, nice to meet you as well. Has Lili been giving you any trouble?"

Sophia laughed. "No she's the perfect roommate. I'm glad she's with me, I wouldn't want anyone else as my roommate."

Lili smiled at her. "Thanks Sophie."

Vash walked around the room, looking at the cork board of photos Lili had collected so far. "You didn't tell me you joined a sorority." He said looking at a picture of she and Sophia on bid day.

"I wanted it to be a surprise when you came. Sophia and I are in the same sorority."

"That's nice...Who is this?" He said picking up a photo of she and Emil sitting on the front lawn wearing the same sunglasses.

"That is actually….my boyfriend." She said slowly.

Vash looked over at her. "Your..boyfriend?"

"Yes, and you're going to meet him at breakfast."

"Lili, what did I tell you at the beginning of the school year? No drinking, no drugs, and no boys."

"I know, but he's so nice and treats me with respect, and I really think you'd like him."

"No. I won't like him, and you're breaking up with him."

Lili's eyes widened. "What? No, you can't make me do that." She spoke shaking her head.

"You break up with him or I'm pulling you out of university."

Lili looked at him with disbelief. "What is so bad about me dating someone?!" She suddenly yelled.

"Lili! I'm not going to argue with you. Now I've given you this option, and you're lucky that it's even an option given."

Lili ran her hands through her hair. Trying to calm herself. She knew he was being irrational, but she knew that the more she yelled, the worse the outcome would be. "Okay, before I make my decision, will you please, just please have breakfast with him there?"

"No."

Now he was just being mean. How could he be this mean and hurt her feelings like this? Did he know he was hurting her feelings? Did he even care? Lili's eyes welled up with tears. "Vash please, just this one time. He wants to meet you."

"...He wants to meet me?"

"Yes, he wanted to go the the aquarium with me but it was family weekend, and he didn't want to spend the weekend without me, so he wants to meet you." She said slowly.

Vash was quiet for a minute. "Alright, fine I'll meet him, but don't think me meeting him will change your options."

"Okay, thank you, thank you so much." She said sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Sophia and I have to get ready, could you just wait downstairs in the lobby?"

"Don't take long." He spoke and slipped out of the room.

Lili sunk down onto the ottoman with her head in her hands.

"I knew you said he was bad, but sheesh." Sophia said and went over and patted her back.

"He's just angry because I didn't tell him. He's never that bad." She said shaking her head. "I'm not breaking up with Emil, but he just can't make me withdraw from school..Can he?"

"No of course not, he's only saying that because he's upset. You know Charlie told me a day before I moved out that if I didn't finish cleaning up my room that he wasn't taking me to school." She said with a small laugh.

Lili gave half a smile. It was funny, but she just hadn't been in the mood for a laugh.

Sophia sighed. "Listen mate, if you break up with Emil while he's here, he's not going to know that you're still with him after he leaves."

Lili scoffed. "Sure, then he'll start looking for houses in the area, probably get a job financial aid office on campus, and make me commute to school. No thank you."

Sophia laughed. "Now you're just being crazy. He's wouldn't do that."

Lili looked up at her.

Sophia winced. "Okay, okay. Well, if you withdraw you don't have to break up with Emil. It'll just be a long distance relationship."

She shook her head. "Emil wouldn't exist if I left."

"What do you mean?"

Lili gripped at her pants, looking down. "It means that if I can't physically see you face to face, then you just don't exist to me. And it's not even that I just don't want to talk to you, I do. I'm not good with calling and texting people on a daily basis. My social skills _stop_ at face to face. I text Emil all the time and call him when I miss him because I know that I can just walk to the next building over to see him. Every time we talked over the phone, or facetimed before we met each other, _you_ were the one making those calls. _Just_ you. I never called you, or text you, or facetimed you because you didn't exist until _you_ reached out to me. I can't put Emil up to him just calling me everyday for a relationship, he probably wouldn't even want to do that." She said, watching tears plop down onto her pants.

Sophia looked at her roommate blankly. She hadn't known what else to do or say. She felt like she was really going to lose her roommate over something so small as having a boyfriend. She crouched down in front of her and grabbed her hands. "You're not going anywhere. Okay? If anything I'm going to be kicking and screaming for you not to go. We'll find a way around it." She said wiping her roommate's tears.

Lili had appreciated the uplifting words, but she felt like the only way she could go from here, was down. "I'm calling Emil. You can shower first."

"Alright. I'm probably going to spend the day drawing for the art auction, in case I want to submit anything new. You just enjoy your day with your brother and boyfriend." With that, Sophia disappeared into the bathroom.

Lili grabbed her phone and called Emil.

"Hello?"

"I hope you're happy."

"What happened?"

"I told him about you and he told me to break up with you or he's taking me out of university."

"...Well, it was nice knowing you, I'll call you a lot."

"This isn't funny. Nothing about this is funny Emil. I really need you to be on your best behavior when you meet him. I told him that you wanted to meet him, so his expectations are through the roof."

"Alright, I'll be on my best behavior. I'll see you at the dining hall."

"Okay, I'll see you there."

* * *

On the way to the dining hall, Lili sent a text to Emil telling them that they were on the way to the dining hall, to which he replied that he was already there with a table.

Lili and Vash walked into the dining hall, and she looked around for her boyfriend. She found him waiting at a table with seats still available, but something was different.

Emil had been wearing a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up and khaki pants. And his hair was neat, combed and pushed back. What on Earth was this? He never dressed this nice. Where was his bed head hair, and ripped jeans?

Lili went over to the table, and Emil stood. "Hey, sorry. Were you waiting long?"

"No I wasn't waiting too long." He said and hugged her kissing the top of her head.

"What are you doing dressed like this?" She whispered to him.

"You want to stay here don't you?" He whispered back.

"This isn't going to—" She started before she pulled away from Emil. "Vash, this is my boyfriend Emil."

"Nice to meet you sir." Emil said holding out a hand for him.

Vash shook his hand, giving him a curt nod.

"You look nice today." Lili said smiling at her boyfriend. While she thought it was silly that he went through all this trouble to simply impress Vash, he did look handsome with his hair combed back like that. Having his sleeves rolled up like that was a turn on. He was such an attractive boy. How'd she get so lucky?

"Thanks. Figured I'd make a good impression since your brother was coming for the weekend."

"Oddly enough I'm not that impressed." Vash spoke flatly.

"Perhaps not, but the things Lili's told me about you is very impressive to me."

"Oh?"

Emil nodded. "Specializing in guns and mass weaponry before getting honorably discharged after 8 years of service in the Army. Seems impressive to anyone."

Vash nodded slowly. "I suppose it is impressive to others yes. These days I'm just managing banks."

"She told me that too. Shows a lot of admiration she has for you." Emil said, in which Lili nodded in agreement.

Vash smiled some looking at Lili. "Are you sure you aren't being modest in how much you miss me? You seem to talk about me a lot."

"You're just so...interesting to talk about." She said smiling.

He nodded again before looking at her. "You know me well enough to know that flattery will get you nowhere, correct?"

Lili nodded quickly.

Vash looked at Lili, before looking at Emil. "I'm sure she's told you about the choices she's been given by now. And while you seem like an okay young man, I'm sure I can find someone more suitable for my baby sister."

"That's understandable sir. I understand that I may not be what you look for for Lili."

"Emil you don't—"

"But, I would just request that you'd allow me to have just one last weekend with her, while she makes her decision."

Vash looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you can spend the weekend with her, but before I leave on Sunday the decision is being made or I am making it for her."

"Yes sir, before you leave on Sunday."

"There's a lot planned for family weekend. There are open art exhibits, workout classes, picnic on the front lawn, and the greenhouse is open too. I really want to go to that and see all the pretty flowers. We even get matching t-shirts. Wouldn't that be cute?" Lili asked smiling.

"Sounds fantastic." Vash said nodding.

"Well, we can't get started sitting. Let's have breakfast and start the weekend's activities." Emil said.

* * *

The group walked across the campus, showing Lili's brother what it had to offer. "So how did you two meet?" He asked.

"Actually Lili helped me with some directions to my dorm. My brothers didn't believe me when I said that we were on the correct side of campus. She saved us a trip." Emil said with a small laugh.

"Mhmm, and Emil's brother, Lukas, decided that we should be friends, since Sophia wasn't here yet and you left. Lukas reminds me of you a lot Vash, he's really protective of Emil."

"Sounds like a smart man." Vash said nodding. "Is he here for family weekend?"

Emil shook his head. "No, he's not really into this kind of stuff. He said he'd visit when I least expected it."

"Sounds like an even smarter man." He said nodding. "So what are you here for Emil?"

"Computer programming." He said shrugging. "Definitely not as cool as marine biology, but I mean, I guess it's nice."

"I told you Computer programming was nice too." Lili said reassuringly as she placed a hand on his arm.

"I'm pretty sure I'd be more interested in your facts about marine animals than you would be in my facts about computer parts."

"Well, anything you say is interesting to me."

Emil had a small smile on his face as he looked over at her with surprise. "That was so sweet." He had wanted to kiss her, but he settled for the cheek instead.

Vash watched the exchange between the two of them. It seemed innocent enough. "So Lili, what do you want to do first?"

"I wanted to go to the greenhouse first, it's not that far from here."

…

Lili pushed the door open, and inside was a warehouse full of vibrant colored flowers and plants. She looked around in awe. It was so beautiful in here. "Look at this place. Why haven't we came here earlier?" She asked and pulled Emil off to start looking at different flowers.

"I had thought about taking you here for our first date, but I figured you'd like the aquarium more."

"And somehow we've ended up here first before the aquarium."

Emil scoffed. "Like that's my fault."

Vash continued to watch, staying close behind the two in case anything seemed inappropriate to him. So far it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary. Emil had been putting flowers in her hair while Lili was giving him different flowers to smell. Every time Lili wasn't looking at him, Emil had been looking at her, and he looked at her in a way that showed a lot of care for Lili. He looked like he genuinely cared about her. It made Vash feel a little less worried about the guy she had chose to date.

"Vash, how are you liking the flowers?"

"Pretty." He responded simply.

"Hey Lili, they've got some seed packets in the front so you can grow your own plants and flowers." Emil called.

"I'm coming Emil!" She called back before looking at her brother. "Are you okay? Am I spending too much time with Emil?"

"Why do you ask that? You think I'm jealous?" He asked.

"No, are you?"

"No." He said defensively. "I'm just allowing you to spend time with him until you break up with him tomorrow." He said.

"Well, do you at least like him?"

"He's...better than okay."

"Would you say he's great?"

"That's pushing it."

"Alright, but better than okay?"

Vash nodded.

Lili smiled some. "At least you're giving him a chance. Come on, we're going to pick out some seeds." She said taking his hand and leading him to the front.

…

"What kind of seeds did you get?" Vash asked.

"I got these seeds for mint. So I could put the mint leaves in my water for fresh minty water. And these marigolds seeds to help spruce up the room."

"Emil, what kind did you get?"

Emil looked over at him holding up the packet of seeds. "I got some mint too, for 'fresh minty water' as Lili puts it."

"Have you ever put mint in your water? You won't regret it. Vash what about you?" She asked.

"I figured these sweet pea flowers would look nice in the garden."

Lili nodded. "Yes, I agree, they would look nice." She said. "So next, we can go to the art exhibit. Maybe we'll see something of Sophie's. I'm definitely going to check."

* * *

The entire first floor of the art building had been dedicated to student works. Sculptures, paintings, drawings, had taken over the space it was given.

"Look at all this art. We've got a lot to look at, but I want to start looking for something by Sophie." She said and headed off on her journey with Emil closely behind.

Vash went off on his own journey, looking at the art separately to give them their own time. But he'd be close, and he'd be watching from afar, definitely.

Lili pulled Emil around the corner before pressing herself against the wall and pulling Emil on top of him, crashing their lips into a heated kiss. Emil, though surprised, was very welcoming to the heated kiss. He hadn't thought Lili had it in her.

When he pulled away from her, he looked at her with a look of confusion on his face. "I don't know if I should be concerned or turned on? What was that for?"

"I'm sorry, I've been wanting to do that to you since I saw you dressed like this." She said and took his face into her hands. "You like a snack to me, and could eat you up right now. I really just want you to take me back to you room and—"

"Lil you keep talking like this and there's going to be a tent in my pants. For serious, you're turning me on a lot talking to me like this."

"I know, I'm surprising myself talking like this, but I couldn't keep that to myself anymore."

He shook his head. "Thanks for sharing with the class Lili." As much as he wanted to take her back to his room and let her eat him up like a snack, he knew that he couldn't. He took her hand. "Come on, let's go before your brother finds us." He said and led her off to find some of Sophia's art.

…

"Wasn't that nice?" Lili asked walking out of the art building with her brother and boyfriend. "I have to tell Sophia that I saw her art. The ceramic piece of that rose was absolutely exquisite."

Emil looked over at her, laughing some. "Exquisite?"

"Mhmm, this is art we're talking about, you can't just say it was 'pretty.' You have to use bigger, more extravagant words. It makes you sound like you're an art expert."

He nodded slowly. "Oh, okay. I'll play your game. So, the rendition we saw of Starry Night made out of bottle caps was...ornate."

Lili grinned. "I concur with your observation Emil." She said before taking his hand. "See? Don't you feel like a fancy art expert with a nice beret on?"

"Maybe not as much as you, but I think I'm getting there."

She laughed at that. She loved poking fun with Emil like this; it always surprised her when he went with it. She didn't expect him to play her little games and go with her little jokes, but he always went with it...She was going to miss it if she didn't end up going here after Sunday.

"What's next on the agenda Lili?" Vash asked.

She shook her head, trying to get the bad thoughts out. "Well, ah, it's almost noon, there was going to be a picnic on the front lawn. We could go to that." She said.

* * *

Lili, Vash, and Emil all sat together at one of the tables scattered across the lawn, eating chips, cookies, and popsicles that were offered there.

Lili happily bit into her cookie, before offering Emil a bite, who politely declined the offer.

Vash looked at her. "Lili don't share your food, it's unsanitary."

"Sorry." She said and took another bite of her cookie. "So, we haven't talked about you yet. How are you doing at home since I've been gone?" She asked her brother.

Vash shrugged. "As good as you would expect me to be. I'm taking a lot more calls from work, and going into the office more. I don't have anything else to do really."

"You're not keeping up with the garden?"

"I water everything on the weekends." He said shrugging.

Wow did Vash's life sound lonely without her. She felt bad for her brother. Lili put a hand on top of his. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you came this weekend, I missed you so much."

"Doesn't seem like you've missed me that much." He said as his eyes flickered to Emil for a moment.

"I have, really. I honestly do talk about you a lot. If you want to call me more you can if you miss me that much Vash. It's okay to miss me."

Vash remained silent.

Lili patted his hand some before standing up. "I'm going to get more of those cookies. I'll be right back."

"Can you grab me another popsicle?" Emil asked looking up at her.

"Mkay, cookies and popsicle. Got it." She said and went off.

Emil looked at Vash, and Vash looked at him.

"You like her a lot?"

Emil looked as if he was surprised he asked a question like that. "I adore her sir."

He nodded. "What do you like about her?"

"What isn't there to like about her? She's beautiful, smart, and humble. She's so passionate and determined to do her best and make everyone proud. She's great company, and there's never a dull moment with her."

Vash sat back in his chair. "I wouldn't mind you dating her, but you'd have to marry her."

"Marry her?"

"Right now she's at a good place with you, and I wouldn't want her to lose it to someone that isn't worthy her hand in marriage."

"And you suppose I am?"

"Contrary to popular belief, yes. You have my blessing to marry her in the foreseeable future."

Emil had thought for a minute, Lili's brother was certainly weird trying to marry off Lili without any knowledge to Lili. But, at least he liked him to marry him. "Honestly sir, I'd love to marry Lili one day, I don't see myself with anyone else at this point."

Vash nodded. "Good." He spoke and looked at Emil in his eyes. "And if I find out that you break up with her, or if you're not keeping her happy, I will personally make a grenade with your name on it, tie you up, hot glue it to your hand, and make you pull the pin."

"Yes sir, I understand one hundred percent." Emil said nodding.

Lili came prancing back a moment later with more cookies and popsicle. "Here you go, the last grape flavored popsicle for my Emi. I grabbed it like it was a fish out of a stream." She said with a giggle.

Emil shook his head with a small smile. "You really know how to make me happy." He said taking the popsicle.

* * *

After the evening was over, Lili had pushed the door open with Emil in tow. Sophia looked back, pulling off her headphones and smiling at the two of them. She laughed at Emil. "Meeting Lili's brother made you dress like that?"

Emil rolled his eyes. "Don't mention it."

"Well I want to mention it, because you have never dressed like this for _me_ before. I'm a little offended." She said pushing his hair back some and just watching it fall in place. God he was so attractive with this hair, and she knew it would be a while until she saw it like this again, so she would definitely take it to her advantage.

"So how did it go?"

"Well, we're getting married."

Sophia waited for the laughs to come..but they didn't. "What the _hell_ did I miss?!" She yelled at them.

Lili shook her head. "Of course, we're not getting married now, but my brother told him that he doesn't want to see me with anyone else, so he can only date me if he's going to marry me."

"So does this mean I have to ask you to marry you still, or..?"

"Oh you're going to ask me to marry you." She said poking him in the chest. "I'm the one getting married off, and I want it done right. And don't think you're just going to get away with telling me to marry you. I want you down on one knee with a ring."

"Yes ma'am, whatever you want." He said nodding.

"But, that is later in our lives, what's important is that I get to stay with you, and Sophie." She said looking up at him with a smile before laughing some. "You know, I was so worried of having my plans ruined by Vash of having my virginity taken by you. I was going to tell you to do it tonight because I thought it was going to be my last night with you."

Emil scoffed. "And you call me dramatic."

"What?"

"That is the most dramatic set up to someone losing their virginity I have ever heard. 'My brother doesn't approve of me being with my boyfriend and wants to take me away, so for the last night of being with him I will let him take my virginity as previously planned before we part.' That sounds like something Shakespeare wrote." He said as he continued to laugh.

Lili started to blush and she hit his arm. "It would have been romantic if it actually happened."

Emil shrugged. "Well I mean, it can still happen. After all, I recall you telling me that I looked like a snack to you?"

Lili shook her head. "As much as I wanted it, and wanted you, I'm going to fall asleep on the walk over there. This day has been _really_ long, and I just need to sleep."

Emil waved her off. "Get some rest Sleepyhead. I'm going to my room, and telling Lukas that I'm getting married to you."

"I'm sure he'd love to have me as his future sister-in-law." She said grinning batting her eyelashes.

"Mm, probably not as much as I'm going to love having you as my future wife." He said and leaned down to kiss her. "Good night, future Mrs. Steilsson." He spoke in a cheeky voice.

Lili melted in his arms when he heard him say that. She didn't think her heart could soar like that.

* * *

"Say cheese." Emil said taking a picture of his girlfriend and her brother who were wearing their family weekend shirts.

Lili smiled brightly, saying "cheese!" While Vash just stared blankly at the camera.

After he took the picture, Lili ran over to look at the picture nodding. "This is as best as I'm going to get." She said. "He never smiles for pictures."

"Yeah me either." Emil said shaking his head.

Lili looked at him strangely. "You smile in pictures with me."

"I know. I only do that with you. I don't even like pictures."

Lili felt slightly flattered. Emil barely took pictures himself, but he always smiled when Lili took selfies of them, or told someone to take a picture of them.

"Can I take this stupid shirt off now?" Vash asked.

Lili frowned. "You could at least be a little more excited for our matching t-shirts Vash."

"I didn't come here for matching t-shirts. I came to see my sister, which is exactly what I did. It's been a nice weekend." He said looking at the both of them.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the weekend, and I'm really glad you gave Emil a chance. He wasn't as bad as you thought he was, now was he?"

"Well I want him to marry you, so I suppose that's grounds for him not being that bad." He said.

"It was nice meeting you this weekend Vash, I enjoyed your company." Emil said reaching his hand out.

Vash shook his hand. "And I enjoyed you...dressed better." He said looking at Emil in his graphic t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"Thank you for coming, I missed you a lot." Lili said and went over to hug her brother.

"I missed you too." He said and looked at her. "Don't hide anything else from me. You know hiding things from me never works out in your favor. You just got lucky in this case." He said. "I'm leaving, I'll call you when I get home."

Lili leaned over and hugged him. "Okay, drive safe, I love you."

Vash wordlessly kissed both of her cheeks. "I'll see you again before the semester is over." He said and looked at Emil. "I trust that you will continue to take care of her."

"Yes of course, have a safe drive." Emil spoke.

Vash gave him another nod, and with that, he was gone.

* * *

Lili and Emil had went upstairs to Lili's room, closing the door with a heavy sigh. "I'm so glad that's over." She said.

Sophia had been sitting in bed sketching. "Your brother left already?"

"Mhmm, so if you want to make the next batch of moonshine, you can."

"I made it already, it's fermenting."

Lili blinked. When did she have time to make it? She was so good at this stuff. "Well okay." She said sitting down at her desk and pulling out the wad of cash that she found yesterday cleaning. "We should really put this in a safer place."

Sophia looked around. "Uh, we can put it in a mason jar and put it in the back of your closet or something."

Lili nodded. "I'll do that." She spoke standing to grab a jar.

"I think I'm going to head back to my room, I've got to study for a test I have Monday." Emil said.

Lili looked back at him. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." She said and went over to him to kiss him. "Bye."

Emil hugged her and gave her a kiss before letting go. "Bye." He said heading for the door. "Bye Sophia."

"See you later Emil." She said.

With that, Emil left.

Lili grabbed the mason jar and stuffed the money inside. "300 dollars. I can't believe it." She said shaking her head.

"Believe it Lili. We need 1,100 more to reach our goal so we've really got to tell more people about it and keep making good moonshine."

Lili nodded. "Right." She said and tucked the money away in the closet for safe keepings. "When is the art auction?"

"It's this Thursday night. And since the volleyball game is this Tuesday, do you want Emil and I to make you signs?" She asked.

She shrugged. "If you want, I think it would be nice."

"Oh! Or, I could get Sebastian to get some photos of you playing."

"He'd do that?"

"I'm sure he would if I asked." She said.

Lili shrugged again. "I'm fine with either or." She said. "I'm really excited about the game. I feel like it's going to be a good one." She said.

"They said that the games are always good. Elizabeta plays every year, so does Camille."

"I'm sure they are good if they both play every year." She said thinking about Elizabeta. Of course, she saw her a lot seeing that she was her RA. But, it's been awhile since she's actually talked to her. Haven't really had a good conversation with her that night on the porch. She figured a conversation with her was long overdue.

"Hey it's been awhile since it's just been you and me. Why don't we watch a movie together and order a pizza?" Sophia asked.

Lili smiled. "I'd love that." She said smiling at her. She felt like she deserved a nice afternoon with her roommate. She had gotten her brother to allow her to continue to date Emil, that was really a huge success to her. "Let the pizza and movie day begin."


	16. Chapter 16

Lili pulled her hair back and grabbed her gym bag. "Alright, I'm going over to the gym. Game is in a couple of hours." She said and stood.

"I know, we'll be there. I probably can't sit with Emil because we all have to sit together. But, I'll make sure he's sitting somewhere you can see him." Sophia said.

Lili nodded. "Thank you, that'll be great. I'm gonna head out now, see you there." With that, Lili headed out.

Today was the day, after putting in so much hard work in practice, today was the Kappa Mu/Zeta Nu volleyball game. She's never been more excited. Lili walked out the door the same time as Elizabeta. She smiled and waved at her. "Hey Lizzie, are you heading over to the gym now?" She asked.

"Yeah. You ready? This is your first time at the volleyball game, it can get a little intense." She told her locking her door.

"I used to play, so I've been in some really heated games."

"Okay at least you've got some experience. Hopefully this game won't end in a screaming match." She said with a small laugh as she started walking.

"That heated huh?" Lili asked as she walked with her.

Elizabeta nodded. "Yeah, it gets that heated, I'm not going to lie, it's some of me too. There's always such a big turnout, girls are screaming at each other across the gym, the game doesn't let up, it's just really a lot of...emotion that goes into the games." She said.

Lili nodded. "I understand. No matter how it goes, I'll be happy for the experience."

Elizabeta smiled. "That's the spirit." She said. "I'm taking my car, do you want to ride?" She asked.

"Sure, I'll ride over with you." Lili spoke.

Elizabeta nodded and walked down to the lobby and outside to her car. She opened the door, climbed in the car and started up the car. "How is KM going for you?" She asked as she started driving.

Lili looked over at her for a second before looking forward again. "It's good, the dues are..expensive."

"Yeah, pretty expensive I've heard. That's how they keep the house up so nicely. But, they say it's worth it, and you pay for them however you can."

If only Elizabeta knew what was going on in her bathroom..."Yeah, I'll get them paid. They do a lot of stuff. They said that we were going on a retreat at the end of the semester."

"Yeah they do that every year. One year it was to Australlia. Where are you going this year?" She asked.

"Paris."

"Oh, city of love, how cute."

Lili couldn't tell if she was being serious or sarcastic. "Yeah I think it'll be nice, but I'm not sure if I want to go yet. Does Zeta Nu go on retreats too?"

'As if we'd waste our money on big trips like that.' Elizabeta thought nastily but shook her head. She couldn't tell Lili that. "We spend our money on different things. We do like camping trips, and we're working on getting permits for renovation to the house. So we have to save up for those kind of things."

Lili nodded. "I understand." She looked out the window her hands gripping at her gym shorts. "Lizzie?"

"Yeah?"

"Was I supposed to be bid by Kappa Mu?"

Elizabeta had been quiet for a moment before nodding. "Yes, did you expect something different?"

Lili looked over at her before looking away. "Well I remember you telling me that I'd be surprised in my bid...I guess I just took it the wrong way." She summed up.

Elizabeta parked her car outside the gym. "Maybe you did. I'm sorry if you thought I meant something else." She climbed out the car.

"It's okay. I'm happy where I am. I'm with my roommate, and she's happy so I'm happy." Lili spoke as she climbed out of the car as well.

* * *

Camille passed out towels to the girls. "We've been training for this moment for a while ladies. We've put our own blood, sweat, and tears on that gym floor already, and Zeta Nu is gonna slip all over it." She spoke. "Our girls are out there expecting us to kick some butt, and we're going to do just that."

Lili had zoned out a little while Camille was talking. She hadn't got a chance to see Emil before the game, and it was a little upsetting. She didn't even know where he was sitting. She supposed that there was no real reason to be upset, but this was important to her, and seeing him before was important to her.

"Alright, let's get out there and kick some Zeta butt!" Camille screamed, and the girls started running out the locker room doors cheering as they did.

She stood, and made her way out the locker room, where she had bumped into one of the referees. "Sorry about that." She said and ran out to the court.

Once she was out on the court, the referee opened the locker room door. "Everyone out, we're about to start." He called.

The last girl in the locker room had been Camille, who was popping in her contacts. She put her contact case on the bench, and walked up to the referee with a wad of cash in her hand. "You're going to make sure Kappa Mu wins this game, right?"

The referee pocketed the cash. "No need to worry, I've got it covered."

.

.

.

Lili lined up with the rest of the girls, when they were being introduced to the crowd. When it was her turn she smiled and waved at the crowd, and suddenly she heard someone scream out her name. She looked back at where she heard her name, and she saw her boyfriend waving at her and giving her two thumbs up.

That had been enough for her. It had been so small, but so important to her. She smiled at him, giving him a small wave, and then running over to shake the referee's hand. It was going to be a good game.

But on the contrary, it was a very  _stressful_  game.

Girls were screaming across the gym from each other. Elizabeta had been doing a lot more screaming than Lili anticipated, but Camille seemed more patient, though she had done some of her shared screaming as well. They had been coming to the end of the second set, and Kappa Mu had the advantage point of 20-24. Zeta Nu had absolutely creamed them the first set with 6-25. Zeta Nu was up to serve. They set up the ball, and passed it over, in which a front row player spiked it back down when it was at the top of the net. The ball slapped down on the Zeta Nu side of the court, and the referee's flag lifted, signaling a point had been given to Kappa Mu. "Second Set won by Kappa Mu Gamma Tau chapter, 20-25." Someone announced. The girls in the stands had erupted into cheers and screams, and the girls on the floor had been hugging each other triumphantly. Meanwhile, Elizabeta had been screaming at the referee about how the point was illegal and that they didn't deserve it, but the referee simply was not listening to her words.

The buzzer had sound, and it was time for intermission. Lili had walked off the floor and went to the crowd and went to her side of the gym where Kappa Mu girls had been giving her encouraging words and patting her on the back. Sophia had been waiting for her with a cold Gatorade.

Lili took the drink. "Thank you so much." She said as she grabbed the drink. She opened the top and took a large gulp.

"You look great out there. It's a really good game going." She said.

"Yeah, really...weird game." She spoke shaking her head.

"Weird?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah, the refs are really—" She started before jumping when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Lili turned around, finding Emil smiling at her.

Lili grinned and hugged him tightly.

"You're doing so good. I'm so proud of you." He told her and leaned down to give her a small peck on the lips.

"Thank you, I wanted to see you before the game started." She said softly punching him in the arm.

"I couldn't get out of class on time. I actually got here before they announced everyone."

"Really?"

He nodded. "But it's worth it, you're always worth it."

"You're so sweet." She said smiling at him.

"Sophia!" Someone had called, and Sophia looked back finding Sebastian running up to her.

"Hey," She said reaching out a hand to give him a side hug. "Lili, Emil this is my friend Sebastian. Sebastian this is my roommate Lili and her boyfriend Emil."

"Nice to meet you all. You're doing so good. Sophia had wanted me to get some action shots of you while you were playing, and I've got a few so far, but we've still got one more game so I'll have them all compiled then. You can pick out some of the ones you like and I'd be more than happy to send them to you and print them out for you."

"Thank you that's so nice of you." She said nodding. "I can't wait to see what you've got at the end." She said and smiled at him. Sebastian was nice, she briefly wondered how the relationship between him and her roommate was going. Maybe Sophia was still sorting out her feelings.

"Are you coming over tonight?" He asked her.

"Probably not, I think I may have something planned after the game."

"Alright, I'll just see you when the game ends."

She nodded. "That's fine."

With a nod of his own, Sebastian walked off.

"So that's Sebastian?" She asked before nodding in approval. "Definitely a cute guy."

"Yeah, he's cute. Still don't know how I feel about him, but I feel...good about him."

"As in, dating good?"

"...Yeah." She said nodding. "But!" She added, "But, I'm still considering it." She spoke.

"Still considering it?"

"He keeps being so nice and sweet to me, and I know he's just doing that to try to date me, but it's starting to get to me and...I kinda miss being treated the way he treats me." She spoke before shaking her head. "But, still considering it." She said.

"Fine fine." She said waving her off. "Are you hungry? Did you eat?" She asked her boyfriend.

"I'm fine I'm not hungry right now."

"Okay, but if you get hungry there's concessions outside open, and drinks, or maybe at least a bag of chips—"

"I'm fine, Lukas."

Lili started to blush. "Am I starting to sound like him?" She asked covering her cheeks so he wouldn't see her blush. "I'm sorry, I worry about you, you're as small as me."

"I'm fine, we can go out after the game. I was thinking we could have to go for ice cream."

"Ice cream?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Yes we can go for ice cream after the game."

Lili squealed excitedly and hugged him. "Alright, I can't wait."

"Lili come on!"

She looked back, finding one of her teammates calling for her. "I've got to go, I'll see you after the game is over." After that she gave him a small kiss and ran over to her team.

Emil gave a small smile, watching her as she left. He waved at Sophia, who waved back, and then went back to his seat.

* * *

Lili rested her hands on her knees, looking down at the court and watching the sweat from her face plop down onto the floor. She wiped her face with her arm in a single motion, and got in position to volley the ball. 23-23, all tied up. Honestly, she's worked her butt off this game, she's never done so many spikes in one game before. There was so much screaming, Lili found herself screaming as well. This was the intensity Elizabeta warned her about. Her heart was pounding, her head hurt from screaming so much, her arms were tired, and her legs had been dead since the beginning of the set. Win or lose she just wanted it to all be over.

They volleyed the ball over, and Zeta Nu passed it back. Camille ran and hopped up, spiking it back down on the court, just outside the line. The ref raised his flag, and a point was granted to Kappa Mu.

Elizabeta looked at the ref in disbelief. "That was in? That was in?! Ref what have you been doing this entire game?" She screamed at him.

"Trying my best not to give you a red card this entire game. What I call is what I call. Now do you want play or want a penalty point taken away?"

Simply, Elizabeta lifted her hands and backed away. "Sorry ref." She told him before shaking her head and walked away.

Someone passed Elizabeta the ball, and she bounced it a couple times before setting it up to volley it over. As soon as Kappa Mu tried to send the ball back over, front row players were on high defense, trying to keep the ball from coming back over. Soon one of the girls hit the ball over to Kappa Mu's side, and Lili dived to save it, the ball popped up and another girl spiked it back down. The ref's flag raised, and the final point was given to Kappa Mu.

"Game Set. Match. Final score 23-25, Kappa Mu Gamma Tau chapter."

The crowd erupted in cheers, the Kappa Mu volleyball team piled on top of each other in triumph.

The other girls from Kappa Mu ran out on the court, crowding the team. "Crowns up! Kappa crowns up!" They chanted as they threw up their symbol.

Elizabeta had been busy talking to her team, reassuring, high fiving, and hugging her team members.

Lili squeezed her way out of the crowd and jogged over to the Zetas. "Good game you guys." She told them smiling.

Elizabeta turned around, giving a small smile to her. "Thanks. Congrats on your win."

"Yeah, your 'win'." Another girl said using air quotes.

The Hungarian nudged her. "Fair and square, totally even." She said.

"It was as heated as you said it would be."

"Yeah, you pumped for next year?"

"Of course I am." She said laughing some. "I have to go meet my boyfriend, so I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I have to go meet my boyfriend too. You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"Yeah, we've been dating for a little while."

"You'll have to catch me up sometimes on the patio at the dorm. Or come over to my room, you're only across the hall."

Lili nodded. "I will." She said and waved at the girls before jogging over to find Emil. She ran around, looking for him, finally bumping into him in a crowd.

Emil smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her. "Best save if I've ever seen one." He spoke to her.

Lili hugged him tighter. "I'm just glad it's all over...Until next year." She said laughing some.

"I'm so proud of you Lil. Seeing you out there doing so good, made  _me_  feel really good. Didn't know I was dating a girl that kick-ass at volleyball."

"I'm glad you know now. When do I get my ice cream?"

"Oh, you want ice cream?" He asked pulling out his keys. "Your chariot awaits outside." He said jingling his keys.

Lili grinned. "Just give me a sec, I gotta grab my stuff from the locker room and tell Sophia I'm about to go." She said and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek before running off to the locker room.

When she got to the locker room, she pushed the door open and went to her duffle bag. She collected the bag, and turned around jumping when she saw Camille.

Camille smiled sheepishly. "Ah, didn't mean to scare you." She said and grabbed her contact case from off the bench.

"It's fine, I was just on my way out. Good game." She spoke and started her way out.

"You're friends with Elizabeta?"

Lili stopped walking. "She's my R.A, but we're sort of friends yes. Why do you ask?" She asked her.

"No reason...I'm just, looking out for you. She's got really bad anger management issues, that's why we stopped being friends."

Lili looked at her strangely. "You were friends once?" She asked.

"Yeah, at one point. When Roderich and I were dating freshman year, we all had a class together and we were all friends. But I don't know, she would just get really upset over little things and then she would just explode out of nowhere. Really scary for anyone to watch. I even worry about Roderich's safety sometimes. He's so fragile compared to her, who knows what she does to him when she's alone with him."

Lili thought for a minute. Elizabeta did seem to get really angry really easily. She didn't think that she would actually put her hands on Roderich...Would she?

"I don't want to like, persuade you or anything, but it's just something to keep in mind when you're around her. If you're going to be around her, try not to make her upset. I wouldn't want her to explode on you."

Lili nodded slowly. "Thanks for telling me...I'll keep it in mind."

"What are sisters for?" She asked holding out her pinkie to her.

Lili wrapped a pinkie around Camille's, smiling at her. "Yeah, I'm glad to have you as my sister." She said smiling more.

…

Lili went back out to the gym, a lot of people had cleared out already, and Sophia had been talking to Sebastian. "Hey I have to go, Emil's waiting on me and I already took longer than I was supposed to, so if you want you can come over to our dorm tomorrow and show me the pictures?"

"Sure I can do that." Sebastian said nodding.

Sophia looked at her roommate, narrowing her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"You answered too quick. What's wrong? Do I need to beat someone up?"

"Sophie, no, you don't have to beat anyone up." She said before sighing. "Look, Emil's waiting for me in the car. I'm going to get ice cream with him now."

"Alright, as long as nothing's wrong. I'll be with Sebastian." She said looking over at him.

Lili nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tonight." With that Lili left the two to go out to the car. She slipped in, tossing her bag in the back seat and strapped on her seat belt.

"Something wrong?"

She clenched her fists. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? Nothing is wrong!" She suddenly yelled.

Emil raised his hands in defense. "Alright, sorry I didn't know I was the thousandth person to ask you. You just look frazzled, like something's wrong with you."

Lili's hands slowly unclenched and she put a hand on his leg. "I'm sorry Emi, I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I just have a lot on my mind that I'd rather not talk about." She said.

Emil shrugged and placed his hand on top of hers. "Well, that just means that we have to eat a lot of ice cream until you forget about it. It's like alcohol but sweeter."

Lili laughed at that and laced her fingers with his. "Lil and Emi show?"

"Lil and Emi show." He said and kissed her hand.


	17. Chapter 17

Lili scrolled through the pictures, smiling some. "These are some really nice pictures, Sebastian. You're a really good photographer." She said looking up at Sebastian.

"Why thank you Lili, I'm glad you like them." He said to her.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "He's not that good."

"Sounds like someone's jealous." Sebastian said nudging her.

"I'm not jealous, anyone can take a picture." She said nudging him back.

"Oh really? So why aren't you studying it?"

"Because not everyone is good at art."

Sebastian looked at her, and went over to her desk sitting down. He flipped to a fresh page in her sketch book, grabbed her pencil, and started drawing.

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "What are you drawing?"

"None of your business."

Sophia went over to him, looking over his shoulder. "This better not be a joke, you better be drawing something good if you're drawing in my sketch pad."

Sebastian shrugged her off. "You think you're the only one on the planet that can that's good at art? M'kay." He spoke simply and finished up his drawing before showing her what she drew.

Sophia snatched the sketch pad out of his hand and looked at the sketch. It was a face. An actual, detailed face. "How did you draw this so quick?"

Sebastian stood up from the desk. "Because I can draw." He spoke patting her back and then going back to Lili. "Sorry about that, had to prove someone wrong." He said looking over at Sophia.

Lili giggled. "It's fine." For them to not be a couple, they sure do argue like a couple.

"Are there any specific ones you want me to print out for you?"

Lili scrolled through the pictures picking the ones she thought were nice to send to her brother and keep for herself.

Sebastian nodded. "Alright, I'll have them printed up for you before the day is over. I have a late class today, but I'll have it done before I go to class."

"It's no rush on the pictures, take your time." She said smiling at him.

Sophia looked over at him with her eyes narrowed. "Oh on the contrary, there is a rush. I don't want you busy by the time I come over tonight."

"Which is why I said I'll have it done before my late class." He said patting Sophia's cheek. "I didn't want to be busy by the time you came over either." He said and grabbed his backpack. "I'm going to class. I'll have these ready for you tonight Lili." He said and looked to Sophia. "See you tonight." He spoke.

Sophia looked at him and leaned over, kissing his cheek. "See you tonight."

Sebastian smiled some before making his way out of the room.

Sophia locked the door behind him, turning around and looking at Lili. "I can't keep doing this, I'm going to like him way more than I should and start dating him."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"You know while you were gone with Emil for ice cream, I left with him to have sex with him...And we cuddled afterwards."

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

"Not if I don't have feelings for him!" She said stomping her foot. "I'm not going to cuddle with someone if I don't have feelings for them, but last night was so nice and he was so warm, I almost fell asleep." She said, a slow smile coming up on her face when she thought about last night. Suddenly she shook her head and pressed her hands against her cheeks. "You know what else happened?"

"What else?"

"When I was with him last night I asked him if he wanted a blowjob for taking your volleyball pictures, but he said he didn't care about that. He said he loved doing what he did best for my roommate, and hoped she liked the pictures he took. That's what he said to me. He's as sweet as licorice Lili. I can't keep having sex with him if he likes me."

"So what are you going to do?"

"What I do best...Avoid the situation in hopes that it fixes itself." She said with a nod and grabbed her backpack.

Lili frowned. "Sophia you can't just fix things by avoiding it."

"Yes I can, and I will." She said and stopped. "The auction is tonight at 6." She said looking back at her.

"Does Sebastian know?"

"Sebastian has class so he won't be there. I know that you and Emil do not, so of course you have to be there. Dress nice." She said.

"Okay, we'll be there." Lili spoke.

"Thank you. I'll see you later." She said and made her way out of the door.

* * *

Sophia fussed with her hair a little before putting her hands back down to the side. She felt so out of place dressed like this. She wore a black lace dress with heels, and her hair had been pulled back in a French twist. 'Stop being so nervous.' She thought to herself. Tonight was the night. Her art had never been in an auction, well technically it wasn't 'in' the auction, but they were for sale at least. She didn't think her works of art were good enough to be auctioned off. But, she was proud of her art works of landscape paintings. They would be nice to hang up in a living room or a den in her opinion, but no one had been interested yet.

Lili and Emil walked around the art museum, looking at all the different works of art. Everything was so beautiful to Lili, she wished she had artistic talent like this. "Isn't it all so beautiful?" She asked him.

"Not as beautiful as the girl I'm walking with." Emil spoke as he continued to walk around with her looking at the art.

Lili looked over at him, and looked away smiling. "You know, that's how I felt when you looked nice for my brother." She said. But she couldn't lie, she put in a lot of effort to look nice for her boyfriend tonight. She wanted to look elegant, and she was good at elegant. She wore a white dress with flowers on it, and wedges, and her hair was curled and pulled away from her face. She had got him to look nice tonight too, and she was back to staring at that glossy kempt hair of his. "Do I look like a snack to you?" She asked teasingly.

"Lil, you look like a meal to me."

"You guys!" A voice whispered loudly across the room.

Lili and Emil looked up, finding Sophia waving and beckoning them to come here. They went over, finding a very red faced Sophia.

Lili walked up to her, looking at her strangely. "Why is your face so red?"

"Oh God is it red?" She said covering her cheeks. "I'm so nervous, I want at least one piece to sell. I get a third of the proceeds for what it sales for."

"Have there been people interested?" Emil asked.

"Well there have been people coming up to me talking about my art. Everyone says they're nice pieces, but no inquiries on payment yet." She spoke with a shrug looking at all eight of her paintings. "They're nice, right?"

"They look amazing Sophia, you're going to sale something, if not all of them." Lili spoke prying her hands away from her cheeks. "Stop being so nervous."

Sophia took a deep breath. "I don't mean to be so nervous, but this is my first time ever selling my art outside of commissions. None of these pieces are being auctioned off, all of this stuff is only up for sale."

"Well you've got all night, the night just started." Emil offered.

"No, I've got forty-five minutes. They're closing the sales before the auction." She said.

"Well why didn't you just put them in the auction Sophia?"

"Lili do you really think someone would want to impulsively buy any of these?" She asked. "They're just pictures of landscapes. These are the kind of paintings you'd by at Michael's or Old Time Pottery for $12." She said and put her hands on her head. "Ugh, what was I thinking trying to sell off these stupid paintings?"

Suddenly, an older woman came over, and whispered something into Sophia's ear, and pressed a receipt in her hand. Sophia's her heart sank and she looked at the receipt. "Who would do that? Can I meet them?" She asked.

"I'm not sure where he went," The woman said looking around, and then ripped off eight 'SOLD' stickers and gave them to Sophia. "But congratulations on selling your work, highest combined amount made tonight so far." She said with a nod and walked off.

Lili looked at the stickers in her hand and grinned. "See? And look at what just happened, someone just bought them off of you."

"Yeah, for a thousand dollars." She said giving them the receipt.

Emil winced. "I knew it would be a lot of rich people here tonight, but a thousand dollars?"

"That's $125 per painting. Who would buy these from you for that much?" Lili asked.

Sophia looked around, and then looked at the receipt. Suddenly her eyes widened. "I know. Put these stickers on for me, I'll be back." She spoke and stalked off.

Lili winced. "I think I know who bought the paintings."

Sophia went over and grabbed Sebastian's arm. "Outside, now." She spoke through gritted teeth.

Sebastian wordlessly followed her outside the building, a small smirk on his face as they walked outside together. "You look nice tonight—"

"What the  _fuck_  is your problem?"

"I take it you don't want the compliment?"

"No I don't want a compliment! I want answers! Why are you here? How did you know I'd be here? And why the fuck did you buy my paintings for a thousand  _fucking_  dollars?" She asked.

"You have no proof I bought them." He said.

"Bullshit I do." She said shoving the receipt in his hand. "That's the same signature you use on your photos, of course it's you. You're the only psycho that would do something like this. Do you realize that this is a  _real_  payment?"

"Yes I understand it's a real payment, why do you think I paid for them?"

"I don't  _know_  why you paid this much for them! That's what I'm trying to figure out! You live in a dorm, what made you think you could buy eight paintings and hang them all up in your room?"

"Because my brothers would love them, which is why I'm sending them back to Italy...Well I may keep one for myself. Which one is your favorite one?"

"I'm actually quite fond of the cabin one, first one I ever painted." Sophia said and shook her head. "Stop getting me off track! How did you know I had art on sell?"

"Well, I heard there would be a Kappa Mu art auction, and I know you're in Kappa Mu. You didn't tell me about it prior, but I figured your art was going to be in it, because let's face it are you really going to pass up an art showcase?"

Sophia grimaced. Dammit he was right, she didn't want to pass up the opportunity, even if she didn't submit any pieces to the auction. "But why are you here? You have class right now."

"I left early so I'd have time to get ready and come here."

Sophia looked at him blankly. "Return them." She said.

Sebastian shook his head. "Final sale only."

She continued to look at him blankly. "You think, this impresses me?" She asked him.

"No, but—"

"Good, because my art is going to be the last thing you ever know of Sophia James." She spoke.

Sebastian's eyes widened. "Sophie—"

"I worked so hard on those paintings in there, hoping that they'd be bought by someone that thought they'd look nice in their living room. But alas, it was bought by the guy I'm fucking that could paint the  _exact_  same landscape; if not better. How shitty do you think that makes me feel? And you just think it's some big joke dropping a thousand dollars on eight stupid paintings when there's a  _ton_  of shit in there that's better than those, and actually worth a thousand dollars!" She screamed at him, tears falling down her face. "At this point, they're just bought out of pity." She said and wiped her face, makeup smudging and smearing across her face. "I don't want to see you anymore, I knew this was a bad idea." She spoke taking a step back from him.

Sebastian walked closer to her. "Sophia you don't have any idea how badly I want to be with you. I want your attention Sophia." He said and gently took her face into her hands.

She pulled away from him. "And you think spending that much money on me will help get my attention?"

"It's got us out here alone now."

"It not like we're out here for a good reason."

"Well how else am I to get your attention for a good reason? You won't give me the time of day. I only see you in class and when you want to have sex. In the small windows of conversation we have, I've become more and more intrigued in you as a person. I know you didn't want to date anyone, and you didn't want me to think I was any different from the past sex partners you've had, but  _you're_  different to  _me_."

Sophia looked up at him.

"I hate having feelings involved, because I hurt a lot of women's feelings when I say I don't like them. Which is why I just have sex with women. You weren't the only girl I was having sex with when we first met, but now you are, and you have been for a while. I don't know what it is about you, but I  _want_  you. And if it means you yelling at me to get your attention, any attention is attention to me."

Sophia looked into his eyes and leaned in to give him a sweet, loving kiss. "I hate that I want you so much."

"So..?"

"So, this means that I'm giving you a chance." She muttered. "But shit like this, has got to stop. I don't know how much money you have—"

"A lot."

"And I don't care about it. I'm not a gold digger, I don't want your money, so don't go around flaunting it to me like you did tonight."

"Okay fine, anything else?"

"You can't be in my group of friends."

Sebastian had seemed genuinely hurt by that. "Why not? I like your friends."

"Because I'm not with the whole double dating crap, I think it's annoying. You can say hi to them all you want passing by and stuff, I just don't want us all together. If I'm with them, I'm with them, if I'm with you I'm with you. It's just better for me that way."

"Okay fine whatever. Anything else?"

Sophia's hands curled around his shirt tightly, and she pulled him closer. "Please, for the love of God  _please_ , spoil me with affection. I want my butt rubbed, and I want to be cuddled, and I want kisses all over my face, and I want to go on cute dates, and I want cute emojis by my name in your phone, and I want your location indefinitely. Please, just give it to me before I kill Lili and Emil for having such a cute relationship."

Sebastian laughed. "Alright, alright. Spoil you with affection, I've got it." He said.

"Thank you." She said simply and looked at him, pointing at him. "And you're making love to me tonight. Not just sex." She said.

"Alright, I'll make love to you tonight, but I'll have you know that making love is what Italians do and you may just fall in love with me."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Shut up." She told him and pulled away from him. "I'm telling Lili and Emil that I'm going with you."

"Oh! Give Lili this." He said and reached in his bag and gave her a catalog envelope.

With a nod, Sophia ran back in and found Lili and Emil sitting to the side eating hors d'oeuvres being served at the auction. A majority of people had filed out and into the ballroom where the auction was being held. "Here, this is for you, they're your pictures." She said giving her the envelope.

Lili looked at the envelope, then at Sophia, her eyes widening."What happened to your makeup?"

"Long story, but I talked to him."

"And?"

"And I may or may not be dating him now, and I may or may not be going back to his room tonight, so, I gotta go." She spoke quickly and turned on heel to go and see him.

Lili gasped. "We'll talk about this later!" She called.

"Of course! Bye!" She called back and went back out the door to walk with Sebastian.


	18. Chapter 18

Sophia lifted her head up from Sebastian's chest, and smiled some. He was so adorable when he wasn't talking. She poked at his cheeks and grabbed at his nose, hoping he'd wake up. And soon, his eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning sunshine." She said grinning at him.

Sebastian gave a small smile. "Good morning." He said, his voice still groggy. Sebastian shuffled in the bed to where he was sitting up and looked over at Sophia, kissing her cheek. "What shall we do today?" He asked.

Sophia looked at him strangely. "Go to class?" She asked him with a small laugh before climbing out of bed to find her clothes.

"Well I guess we'll just have to hang out after your classes. I don't have class on Fridays."

"Must be nice." She said slipping on her underwear. "I have class on Fridays. But it's only one class and it's at noon so." She spoke and gave a shrug.

"But you're leaving at eight in the morning for it? You don't want to stay a little longer before you leave?"

"I can't, I…" She paused for a second. "...Have something to do in the mornings." She said and slipped back on her dress.

"Like?"

"None of your business." She spoke defensively and sat down to put her shoes on from last night.

Sebastian moved closer to her, shaking his head. "Not a good enough answer. Your business is my business now."

"Well this business is for me to know, and for you to not ask about ever again." She said sweetly to him. "Zip me up."

Sebastian zipped up Sophia's dress and sighed. "Why can't I know?" He asked pouting.

"Because I just can't tell you. Okay? Please, just don't ask about it."

"Alright fine." He said. "But is this the only secret you're going to have with me?"

"Yes, everything else is fair and free." She told him and leaned over to kiss him. "Now I really have to go. I will text you later." She said and stood up from the bed to leave out his room. She looked back before giving him a small wave, and he waved back.

Then she was gone.

* * *

Sophia pushed her door open, finding Lili still asleep. She took her heels off, and crept into the bathroom to start distilling the newest batch of alcohol.

Lili woke up a few minutes later, hearing the clinking of the still from the bathroom. She climbed out of bed, putting on her slippers and poked her head into the door, finding her roommate in the bathroom. "Hey I didn't hear you come in."

Sophia looked back at her. "You were asleep, didn't want to wake you." She spoke and turned back around.

"Are you alright?" She asked walking inside the bathroom.

"Yeah, why do you ask that?"

She shook her head. "No reason, you just seem a little quiet. You just came back from spending the night with Sebastian for the first time. I was expecting you to be buzzing with details."

"I enjoyed it, I wish I could have stayed longer." She spoke simply.

"Well you have the weekend to be with—"

"I lied to him."

"You what?"

"I lied to him. Well I technically didn't...yes I did, I lied to him." She spoke shaking her head and cupping her hands around her face. "He asked me why I had to leave so early, and I couldn't tell him about this." She said gesturing to the distilling alcohol.

"Well what could be so bad about him knowing? If you want to tell him, tell him. Emil knows, and he's at least supportive."

"It's not the same thing Lili."

"Why isn't it?"

"Because," She sighed. "Because he's rich. How do you think he bought my paintings last night? He's like freaking loaded, and his brothers give him anything he wants. If I tell him that I'm doing this; he's going to pay for my KM dues, and I really do not want that to happen."

"What is so bad about him paying for your dues? At least you'll get them paid."

"Yeah and if I asked he'd probably pay for yours too. Look mate, I'm not dating him for his money. I don't even like knowing that he has that much money." Sophia said shaking her head. "I'd rather illegally sell alcohol than ask him for money. That's absolutely out of the question. And he likes me so much that if he finds out about this, he's going to pay for them without any questions asked, and the thought of it makes me feel so grimy and yucky, that I never even considered that a possibility."

"Well if he's willing to pay for them then you should just let him. I don't see what the big problem is Sophia."

"The problem is, is that Sophia James does not do handouts. I grew up in a family with barely any money to get by. I had been selling commissions since I was 12, helping my brother and cousin. Just to pay for the school that I asked to go to, Charlie gave up the money he was saving to open his own brewery, just to pay for my first semester here. He works three jobs now and I never see my cousin on account that he's always working graveyard shifts. I was taught to work for what you want, not let it be handed to you."

Lili had felt bad, and really entitled. Meanwhile she was in after school programs, did intramurals, danced, learned how to play certain instruments, and gymnastics without asking to do it. It was just given to her. Vash even put gas in her car. This had been the first time on her own really. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." She said going to sit next to her, running her hands through her head. "I feel so bad. I really didn't mean it like that." She said.

Sophia waved her off. "It's fine, really. I'm not that offended." She said with a laugh. "But, do you understand where I'm coming from Lili?" She asked.

She nodded. "Yes of course. Thanks for telling me."

Sophia smiled at her and looked back at the still where the head was busy distilling. It had been almost full. "But, now that  _that's_ out of the way, I have  _so_  much to tell you about last night."

Lili looked at her phone, and grinned. "You've got an hour before I get ready for class."

* * *

"This is kind of exciting, last week I didn't get a chance to come with you guys to deliver this stuff." Lili spoke.

"Yeah, last week I was in the front seat." Sophia spoke from the back seat. "Can we make this quick? I've got a boyfriend to see."

"Oh blah blah blah you get one boyfriend and want to spend all your time with him. We're going to see you less and less because you're going to be with him more and more, enjoy us while you've got us." Emil spoke as he continued to drive.

"Yes we're a great show." Lili said smiling.

Emil laughed, glancing over at her. "We're a great show indeed."

"Besides, you say that like you're the only one with plans to be with your boyfriend tonight. We have stuff planned too."

"Ordering a pizza and talking about feelings doesn't constitute for plans. Sorry."

Lili looked back at her, a look of offense on her face. "We're past that stage already, we actually have plans that won't be cancelled tonight on anyone's part." She said and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Yeah, she's never been to an arcade before, such a disgrace." Emil said shaking her head.

Sophia looked at her roommate disappointingly. "An arcade? Really Lili?"

"I need to see what this fuss is about over video games. They're just video games."

"I haven't told her what happens when you win the video games yet, I'm leaving that as a surprise."

Sophia laughed. "God please snap her reaction to me once she knows." She said laughing more.

"Don't worry, I will." Emil spoke laughing more.

Lili frowned. "You didn't tell me something happens when you win games. Does it have to be a secret?" She asked pouting.

"Yes because you're going to love it."

"He's right Lili, you wouldn't want to ruin this surprise."

"Fine, but it better be worth it. I refused to be underwhelmed."

Emil laughed. "You can't stop yourself from being underwhelmed."

"I can try."

"You know it was way quieter without you riding Lili."

"Then I must be the entertainment of the car." She spoke grinning.

"More like headache." Sophia mumbled.

…

"Alright, you need anything else before we leave?" Lili asked looking back at her roommate.

Sophia shook her head, taking her bag and giving Lili the money they had made from selling tonight. "Nope, enjoy the arcade." She said.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Emil asked.

"Yeah and maybe Sebastian would want to come." Lili said next.

"Arcades aren't my thing, and I'm sure Sebastian isn't into that kind of stuff, so I'm gonna pass for the both of us. Goodnight." She said.

"Well okay, goodnight." Lili said as Sophia got out of the car and went to the front door of Roody hall where Sebastian was already waiting for her. He had greeted her with a kiss before leading her inside.

Lili grinned as she watched from the car. She was glad Sophia had someone now, they were so cute together. "So about this surprise, can I get a hint?"

Emil rolled his eyes. "No, no hints."

Lili frowned folding her arms. "Fine, no hints. Take me to the arcade."

Emil bagged out of where he was parked and glanced at her. "You're so spoiled."

Lili looked at him. "You were the one that was upset when I said you couldn't meet my brother, but guess who still got their way?"

"And now I'm marrying you in the future. This is not the same thing. If I tell you too much you're going to get it too quickly." He said.

"I'm so smart I'll know what it is from the hint?"

Emil nodded.

"Well why didn't you just say that? Now I'm really excited." She spoke.

* * *

"Why is it called Ski Ball if there's no skiing involved?"

"S-K-E-E Ball, not the snow stuff."

"Oh." She said. Now she understood. Lili looked around one more time. It was so colorful and bright in here. There were so many flashing lights and games. She liked it honestly. "So, I just throw this in one of those holes up there?" She asked holding up one of the balls.

"Yep." He said nodding.

"Sounds easy." She said and turned to the game. She aimed and wound her arm back above her head.

Emil took her arm gently but firmly. "Not like that." He said. "Maybe my instructions weren't clear enough. You have to roll the ball up this runway and get it into the holes like that." He said.

"Ah, that makes more sense." She said nodding and gently rolled the ball up the runway, only to have it roll right back down to her. Lili pouted and then rolled the ball with all of her strength. The ball flew down the runway, hitting the incline, popping up into the protective shield and down into the gutter, giving her ten points. Lili looked over at her boyfriend. "Look at that, I'm on the board." She said proudly.

He shook his head. "You're not going to win anything playing like that." He stood behind her, and put another ball in her hand. "Here, let me help." He said and put his hand under hers. "You can't be too hard, and you can't be too soft. Just relax your arm, take a deep breath, and let the ball fall off your fingertips when you let it go." He guided her into winding her arm back and she rolled the ball, doing just what Emil taught her. The ball rolled down the runway and up into the center hole, a thousand points.

Lili cheered excitedly and looked over at her boyfriend. "Thank you for your help. I didn't know you were a master at Skee Ball."

"You should see Mathias play. He's amazing. Keep going, you still have balls in play." He said pointing at the row of balls she had.

"Oh right." She said and continued to play. By the time all of her balls were gone, she ended up with 3,450. Lili was extremely proud of her score. "What do I do now?" She asked looking around, finding five tickets already dispensed out for her. "What are these tickets for? Can I get more coins with these?" She asked looking up at Emil who was already recording her.

"Nope, but keep up with them. You'll get something at the end."

Lili looked at him strangely. "I have to carry around a cup full of coins and tickets?" She asked before shaking her head. "We should have brought fanny packs."

Emil laughed. "That's what they give you two cups for. One for tokens and one for tickets."

Lili looked at him as if he had just done a magic trick. "Who knew the arcade had everything figured out so well?" She asked. Lili grabbed her coins and pulled the second cup off, dispensing her tickets inside. "Five tickets richer, I love it. We have to play more games, and I don't want to play stuff by myself either." She said taking his hand.

* * *

Lili and Emil spent the late evening playing games. Emil was unbelievably good at Galaga, and Lili liked watching him play and cheered him on, though she was jealous of how many tickets he won. She liked the driving game, even if she wasn't that good at it. Emil said she was being 'too polite' to the other cars and weren't supposed to let them pass her. She did better the second time around. Lili had been strangely good at the zombie shooting game, the best game she played all night.

By the end of the night, both Lili and Emil had cups full tickets. "Alright, time for the surprise we've all been waiting for." He said and took her over to the back of the arcade and stopped her in front of a door. "This is the Winner's Corner."

Lili looked at him and then pulled the door open, and she gasped when she saw the inside. She walked in looking around. Lava lamps, candy, novelty toys, bouncy balls, everything you could think of was in the small nick of the arcade. "Look at all this stuff. I don't know what to get. What can I get?" She asked looking at Emil, who had been once again recording her.

"Whatever your tickets can pay for."

"So that's what the tickets are for? That's so smart." She said and shook her cup around to see how many tickets she had. She smiled, she was going to get something good with how many tickets she had. "What are you going to get with your tickets Emil?" She asked walking around the room with him.

"I don't know, I never know what I want to get."

"Should I get one big thing with my tickets or a bunch of little things with my tickets?"

"Well if you get one big thing then chances are it's going to be something really nice and will last long. But if you get a bunch of smaller things, then they're usually pretty cheap and will be gone or break the next day."

Lili nodded at the new knowledge. "Okay, so definitely something big." She said and looked around. Maybe a lava lamp? Too Corny. What about a tumbler? She had too many of those already. A hand held fan? When would she ever use that? Lili had been getting anxious with how badly she wanted to find the right thing for herself. Then she paused, she found it. The perfect prize. It was a large stuffed penguin.

"There it is Emil. The penguin, I want the penguin." She said pointing to it and then going back to the desk to ask the man that was working. "Excuse me sir, may I get the penguin please?" She asked sliding him the cup of tickets.

The man took the tickets and weighed them up then he looked back at the penguin and shook his head. "100 tickets short ma'am."

Lili frowned. She had already ran out of coins so she couldn't play anymore games. "Aw." She said in a small voice, her head falling to her chest.

Emil slid the man his cup of tickets. "You can add these. Lili you can pick—" He started only to have Lili throw herself around him in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She told him excitedly and went over to the man, who was already pulling down the penguin.

"What else should I get now?" She asked looking at Emil.

"You got 50 tickets left. You can get anything on the second level shelves or some of this stuff in the glass counter." The man said.

Lili looked through the glass counter. She didn't want candy, she didn't want plastic action figures, and she didn't want pencils. "Can you hand me the box of bracelets please?" She asked pointing at them.

The man slid the glass door open and pulled out the bracelet box, handing it to her.

"Thank you." She said before shuffling through them. She found two thin woven bracelets, one coral and white, and the other navy blue and white. "I'll take these." She said holding them up.

"They're all yours. That's all your tickets, have a good night." He said putting the bracelets away.

Lili smiled and gave Emil the navy blue bracelet. "I got us friendship bracelets. I hope you like yours."

Emil looked at the bracelet. He shook his head. "I knew I couldn't trust you to pick out something with my tickets." He said and took her bracelet to tie it around her thin wrist.

Wordlessly, Lili grinned and tied Emil's bracelet around his wrist.

"I love it, thank you for picking out something so nice." He said smiling at her.

"You're welcome. And thank you for giving me the rest of your tickets to get my penguin."

"You're welcome." He said and offered her his hand so they could walk out.

She took his hand while the penguin was wrapped around her arm.

"Did you enjoy your first time at the arcade?"

"Did I? I loved it! Where has this place been all my life?"

"If you liked this place, you'd love mini-golf."

"There's a game smaller than regular golf?" 


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got my first comment on this story 19 chapters in. I'm glad someone took notice on this story. Readers review on FF.Net, but I felt like I was posting chapters on here for no reason. Thank you.

Sophia pushed the mail room door open, holding it open for Lili. "You ever been here before?" She asked as she went to her mailbox.

Lili shrugged. "A couple of times. I know my box number and combination, but I don't know a lot of people that would send me something; so I rarely check it."

She put in her combination and pulled out her single piece of mail. "It just gives me something to do. Most times I never find anything in it, but sometimes I do, and that's nice." She said and pointed at the piece of mail in my hand. "But, I knew this was coming. This is my profit from my landscapes in the art auction." She said ripping the letter open. Inside was a check for 300 dollars. She nodded. "We just got more money for dues." She said waving it around. "Why don't you check yours? Maybe it's something good in it."

"I don't know, I doubt it is." She said.

"Never know if you never try. Here, touch the check for good luck and hopes that someone sent you something good."

Lili shook her head, but still rubbed the check a little and went to her mailbox. "Let's see what the magic qualities the check possesses." She said and pulled her mailbox open. It was a letter and promo mail from off campus apartments. She looked at the letter smiling. "It's from my cousin." She said and opened it up, pulling out the letter.

_Hey Lil,_

_Thought I'd send you a letter because you asked me to before you graduated. I hope you're doing okay, I'll probably visit for a weekend because believe it or not you're not the only person there I visit. I've got some friends there that go to West U too, but I doubt you know them. And plus, I just wanna see you, haven't seen you since you graduated high school. I still have the picture of us on your graduation day in my wallet. And that's special because my own girlfriend isn't even in my wallet, but she's on my lockscreen so I guess that's fine. Did you find a boyfriend in college yet? I'm 100% sure Vash told you no boys, but if you found a guy you like, date him. Don't let him ruin everything in your life. When I visit I want to meet him too. I'm sure he's as awesome as you are._

_See you soon,_

_Gilbo_

_P.S Check inside the envelope too ;)_

Lili smiled as she read the letter from her cousin. He was so silly, but she loved him all the same, he was her favorite cousin. After reading the letter, she pulled 50 dollars out the envelope.

Sophia cheered. "The magic check worked!"

She shook her head, smiling. "I love him so much. I wish I could see him more, and I wish Vash didn't move us away from him. I miss Ludwig too, he's so adorable." She said. "He said he was coming to visit soon, and that he had friends that go here too, but he said he doubted I knew them." Lili shrugged, putting the money in her pocket, and then putting the letter back in the envelope.

Sophia grinned. "350 dollars that quick. And 250 from this past weekend. 350 and 250 make…"

"600."

"Plus the 300 we have back at the room makes…"

"900."

"Which means we only need…"

"500 more for dues."

"We're doing it Lili, we're actually doing it. We can make that in the next month if we keep doing what we're doing."

Lili looked at her roommate and hugged her tightly. "I can't believe this is going so well. We're actually going to do it, we're going to pay off dues this semester."

"You just need a little hope. That's all you need." Sophia said. "We'll have it paid off before homecoming." She said to her. "So our homecoming is going to be all fun and stress free." She said.

Lili grinned. "Can't wait."

"Come on, we should go and cash this check and stash it away for safekeeping." Sophia said

"Right." Her roommate said and she closed her mailbox. She followed Sophia out, and a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes held the door open for them. "Thank you." Sophia said nicely as she walked out.

Lili walked out behind her, smiling politely and thanking the boy.

The boy smiled back at Lili, watching her as she left.

"I still have to pick something out for Eye Candy tonight." Sophia said. "I'm sure I'll find something nice but I think I'll need some help." She said.

"I can help you. Is Sebastian coming?"

"Yeah, I actually invited him, and I had to threaten him not to bid on me." She said laughing.

"At least your boyfriend wasn't a blockhead about it."

* * *

Lili had been in charge of doing the overture of the girls' 'about me' cards, reading off the information given that would make the contenders interested. It was perfect for her, she had been told she had a good speaking voice. Perhaps it was from the practice of announcing the Lil and Emi Show. The thought had made her laugh some. She gathered the notecards and placed them in the sound booth in the back of the auditorium. People were starting to fill in, and she soon found her boyfriend walking in.

Emil laughed some, seeing her dressed in all black. "Bringing out your inner ninja I see." He said.

Lili nudged him. "I'm working tech, you're supposed to wear black."

"Is Sophia around?"

"She's getting dressed in the dressing room with everyone else. I think she's like number seven or eight on the list."

"Alright, I wanted to tell her good luck, but you can just send her that message from me." He said.

"I will. Take your seat, we're going to start soon." She said.

"Yes ma'am." He said nodding and went to find a seat.

Lili went to the back of the stage, to the dressing room, where she found everyone finishing up the final touches on getting dressed. Putting on shoes, zipping up dresses, spraying finishing spray on their faces. "10 minutes until we start ladies." Lili spoke in the room.

"Hey Lili, can you toss this for me?" A girl asked handing her a food bag.

"Sure Katie." She said taking the bag and smelling it some. "Tacos?"

"Yep, and they were delicious." She said grinning.

Lili laughed some. "Glad they were good." She said and walked over to Sophia, who was still pinning her hair in place. "Hey, Emil wanted me to tell you good luck." She said.

"Thank you. Have you seen Sebastian?" She asked.

She shook her head. "No I just saw Emil. Is he here?"

"Yeah, he's here, I just don't know where he actually is." She said picking up her phone. "But maybe that's a good thing, I don't want him to make me nervous."

"Good call. I'm going back out, good luck Sophie." She said and hugged her quickly before going out and tossing the food bag away. Then, made her way back to the sound booth. She took her seat next to the girl that was playing the music for tonight.

"Here, put this headset on, so we can be connected backstage." She told her.

Lili nodded and put on the headset, testing it for a second. It was working. In the meantime, while she waited, she played on her phone as she bobbed her head to the music.

The lights went dim, and Lisa Washington came out on stage dressed nicely. "Good evening everyone. Thank you for coming out to our 7th annual Eye Candy Auction. In where our lovely Kappa Mu girls will be auctioned off for a date to the highest bidder in the audience tonight. I'm Lisa Washington, rush chair of Kappa Mu Gamma Tau Chapter, and I'll be your MC tonight. Tonight, we have ten lovely ladies being auctioned off tonight, so without anymore waiting we'll get started. Our first model is our very own President, Camille Grimaldi. Camille come on out."

Camille came out onto stage, dressed in a white off-shoulder dress that was longer on one side, and showed off her legs. Her hair was down and curled, and her glasses had been replaced with her contacts. Cat calls came from audience as she walked out and to center stage.

"Camille Grimaldi is a junior here at West U, and is studying music theory. Originally from the country of Monaco, she has been apart of Kappa Mu since her freshman year. She enjoys reading, playing the violin, and working wherever she can in the community. Her idea of a perfect date would be going to a broadway musical, and then dinner afterwards. The three things she looks for in a significant other are: ambition, determination, and passion. And one interesting fact about her, is that she originally wanted to major in animation but felt like music was moreso her 'calling.'" Lili read off the card and over the microphone.

"And that's our president. We will start all biddings at 5 dollars. Five dollars anyone?"

"5 dollars!" Someone yelled.

"10 dollars!"

"20 dollars!"

"40 dollars!"

"50!"

Lili hadn't known how Lisa was keeping up with all of the sudden numbers being yelled at her, but she was doing really good. She also hadn't been surprised at how far they were driving up Camille's price. Who wouldn't want to go on a date with the president of Kappa Mu?

"200!"

"200 dollars is the highest bid, do I hear 210?" Lisa asked. "200 going once, 200 going twice...Sold for 200 dollars! Payments will be made in the back of the auditorium. We accept cash, card, and checks. Please make your way to the back to process your payment. Thank you Camille, can we get a round of applause for Camille?" She asked as the audience started clapping while she walked off.

.

.

.

"Our next model is Sophia James, Sophia come on out." Lisa said.

Sophia walked out in a black colored drape front halter dress, and silver caged stilettos. Her hair was pinned up very elegantly. She felt very flattered that so many people were screaming and whistling at her. She must have looked really good.

"Sophia James is a freshman at West U, studying art education. She loves to paint, listen to music, and write poetry. Her idea of a perfect date is going to an art museum, or going to a paint-and-sip class. The three things she looks for in a significant other are: humor, romance, and loyalty. And one interesting fact about her is: though she is originally from Australia, she is specifically from the Principality of Wy, making her Wyze."

"Alright, really great girl Sophia James is. Let's of course start the bid at 5 dollars."

"50 dollars!" Someone said.

Sophia had to restrain from rolling her eyes, she knew  _exactly_  who that someone was.

"60 dollars!"

"75 dollars!"

Lili grinned, she was doing so good thanks to Sebastian she supposed. She gave two thumbs up to her best friend on stage, in which Sophia smiled more at her.

"Lili are you on headset?" Someone said from the back.

Lili picked up her headset and spoke back to the person. "Mhmm, do you need something?"

"Yes, get backstage right now."

Lili blinked. "Uh, okay. I'll be back there in a minute." She said and put her mic down and took off the headset and jogged to the back stage. She pushed the dressing room door open walking inside. Instantly, she covered her ears from hearing a nasty retching sound coming from the dressing room bathroom.

"Katie's got food poisoning from those  _stupid tacos she ate earlier_!" Camille spoke, yelling the last part loud enough for Katie to hear.

"They were still— _bleh—_ good!" She called back between vomiting.

"We need you to model for her, you're the only one small enough to fit her clothes."

"Okay, sure I don't mind. Where are her clothes?"

Camille pointed to her station and Lili's eyes widened, finding her dress hanging up and her shoes sitting to the side. "Camille I can't wear that!" She said looking at her.

"Why can't you?"

Lili stammered to find an answer.

"Sold for 150!"

"Lili, we don't have time for your shy shell, you have to do this for us, please."

" _Bleh,_ you'll look great in it Lili!" Katie called from the bathroom.

Lili sighed. "Okay, I'll wear it." She said stripping off her clothes.

"Great, someone pull her hair back and do her make up! Now! There's only one person in front of her." Camille demanded.

.

.

.

"And our last model tonight will be Lili Zwingli. Lili come on out."

Lili slowly walked out in a pink crushed velvet cami bodycon dress, and black thigh high heel boots to match. She never felt more revealing than she did now. Her hair was pulled back, and her makeup involved a lot of glitter, and thick and shiny lipgloss. Instantly she heard whistles and cat calls from everyone in the audience. She smiled sheepishly and waved politely.

"Lili, would you like to tell the audience a little bit about yourself?" Lisa asked giving her the microphone.

Lili took the mic, looking around for her boyfriend, and locking eyes with him. "Um, I'm a freshman here at West U, and I'm studying marine biology. I love to play volleyball, I love playing the piano, and I love being in nature and being outdoors. My idea of a perfect date is going to the aquarium or going on a weekend camping trip. Three things I look for in a significant other are: passion, intelligence, humor. One interesting fact about me is that I just recently went to an arcade for the first time, and it was really, really fun." She said smiling some before giving back the microphone to Lisa.

"Alright, and that's Lili everyone, we'll start the bid at 5 dollars."

"20 dollars!"

"40 dollars!"

"60 dollars!"

Honestly it was a little entertaining to see Emil looking around at the people who were bidding on her. She knew he couldn't help himself.

"100 dollars!"

She had to cover her mouth a little when she saw Emil sit up in his seat. "150!" She heard Emil say.

"175!"

"200!"

"250!"

Silence.

"Okay, sounds like 250 is the highest bid. 255 anyone? No? Well, 250 going once..going twice..SOLD for 250! Auctions are finally closed, how much did we make tonight in sells?" Lisa asked.

There was a moment of silence, then one of the girls at the payment table yelled out, "3,265 dollars!"

"Wow what a great turn out!" Lisa said clapping and the audience clapped as well. "Thank you everyone that came out tonight, and everyone that participated tonight. Eye candy is one of our biggest events we have on campus first semester, and Kappa Mu just appreciates everyone cooperating and making it as great as it is. We ask that all customers that made a sell will stay back to get to know their model a little more and to set up dating arrangements with one another. Thank you everyone, and enjoy the rest of your evening!"

Lili went off stage and down to the audience to find her boyfriend. She yelped when she felt a hand pull her towards them, and she fell into Emil's arms. "Can I see this outfit again on our honeymoon?" He asked.

"Emil it's not even my outfit."

"That doesn't mean you can't get one like this later down the line." He said as his hands traveled down to her rear.

"Hey, hands off." She said pulling his hands back up to her waist. "Thanks for not buying me." She said with a small smile.

"Yeah I couldn't afford you after 250 that was the best I could do in driving up the price, I hope you're satisfied. I just wish I knew the person that bought you."

"It's probably best if you didn't. He probably wouldn't even want to go on a date with me anymore if they met you." She said laughing some. "I'll have to see you later though, I have to meet whoever is taking me on this date, and I have to give Katie back her dress and boots."

"Alright, later then." He said and leaned down to kiss her.

When he pulled away from her lips, she looked up at him giggling. "This lipgloss looks better on you than it does on me." She said rubbing at his now glossed lips.

.

.

.

Lili had changed out of her borrowed outfit and back into her all black affair, and went out to find whoever bought a date off of her.

"Lili?"

She turned around, finding the same boy that held the door open for them at the mail room staring at her. "Um, hi, are you the one that got the highest bid on me?"

He nodded. "Don't you remember me? We were in the same orientation group over the summer."

She looked at him a moment longer before snapping her fingers. "Raivs! It's Ravis right? Sorry I didn't mean to forget about you, it's just been a while." She said holding her arms out to hug him. "How are you?"

Ravis went to hug her tightly. "I've been good. You looked really pretty up there, I'm glad I'm going to have a date with you." He said.

"Me too, it'll be fun I'm sure. Did you have anything in mind for our date?"

"Nothing much, maybe just dinner?" He asked.

Lili smiled warmly at him. "Dinner sounds great Ravis. Here, take my number down."

Ravis took his phone out to get Lili's number and he saved it. "Okay, how about some time in the week? It sounds kind of weird, but I usually work on the weekends. And I work this weekend."

"I'm free Tuesday evening."

"Okay, that sounds great. We'll have a nice dinner Tuesday evening."

"Can't wait, I'll see you then." She said and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek before leaving, and again, he watched her walk away.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Attempted Rape, please read with caution.

"Alright, so I've been thinking," Lili started as she did her make up.

"Thinking about?" Sophia asked not looking up from her note cards.

"And you can say it's not a good idea, my feelings won't be hurt."

"Okay?" She spoke curiously.

"But, I've been thinking about fruit flavored moonshine. Instead of gallons, we switch to mason jars and add fruit at the bottom of the jars while it distills on top of the fruit. Sell it for maybe 10 dollars a jar?" She asked looking back at her.

Sophia paused her studying for a second. "Actually Lili, that's not a bad idea." She said looking back at her. "We can try it, but we're going to need  _a lot_ of mason jars."

"28 per batch specifically."

"And we're going to need a lot of peaches, and we have to try it ourselves too. Would that down the proof of the alcohol though?" She asked herself.

"If it does then we'll just buy some Everclear." Lili spoke with a shrug.

Sophia looked back at her roommate with a surprised look on her face. "How do you..? You've really been thinking about this huh?" She asked.

"I just thought it sounded like a good idea, so I figured if I did some research and told you about it you'd like the idea more." She said.

"Well I'm really loving this idea. I'll tell all of our customers about it, and this week we'll buy some peaches, we've got tons of mason jars in the art department that no one uses, and we'll see how it works out."

Lili grinned. She felt like she had did something good to help. If it works out, maybe it could be a permanent thing. She stood up from her desk, looking at herself in the mirror. A nice blouse, a pair of jeans, and a little make up would do for this date she was going on with Ravis. "How do I look?" She asked her roommate.

Sophia looked back at her. "Pretty, enjoy your date with your friend." She said.

"Thanks, when is yours again?"

"It's next Friday. Actually with a guy in my math class. His name is Peter, and he's pretty nice. He feels like we have something in common because he's English and I'm Australian." She said with a wave of her hand.

Lili giggled. "Well maybe it'll still be nice. I'm going now, I'll see you later tonight." With that, she grabbed her phone and keys and made her way out the door.

By the time she made her way down to the lobby, Ravis had been waiting for her. She smiled politely at him and gave him a nice hug. "Hi, it's good seeing you. You look nice." She said looking at him in his khakis and collared shirt.

He hugged her back. "Thank you. You look beautiful." He said looking at her as well.

"Thank you." She said nodding at him, and gestured towards the door. "Shall we?" She asked.

"Yes of course, I'm parked right outside." He said and led her outside to his car.

Lili followed him out to his car, thanking him when he opened the door for him and she slid in. "Where are we going for dinner?" She asked putting on her seatbelt.

Ravis closed his door and started up the car. "Uh, I know this diner that isn't far from where I work. They have really good milkshakes."

"Sounds nice." She said smiling some.

"Alright, we'll go there tonight." He said and started for the diner.

* * *

"So what are you studying?" Lili asked mixing around her milkshake.

"Pharmaceutical studies." He said. "And I remember you saying that you're into marine biology? What made you chose that?"

She shrugged. "It's different. I love marine animals, and I love the ocean. My brother took me deep-sea diving when I was sixteen, and it was beautiful. Seeing so many different fish, and beautiful sea corals, and turtles. It was just really nice, and I just figured that I should be around it a lot more, and find a profession out of it." She explained as she pulled her milkshake covered straw out of her milkshake. "What made you chose pharmaceutical studies?" She asked licking the milkshake off her straw.

Ravis watched as she licked off the milkshake, biting his lip some. He wondered what else she could do with that tongue…

"Ravis?"

"What? Oh right, uh I just like learning about medicine, how to cure things, and remedies. I want to own my own pharmacy one day too. You make some good money in it." He said.

"They say to do what you love." She said, shifting some in her seat. "So, what are some hobbies you're into?"

"Well, I like to write poetry sometimes. I have to show you some I wrote. I like to work on computers, and play video games." He spoke as his leg rubbed up against Lili's under the table.

Lili pulled her leg away, still smiling some. "I'd love to read some of your poetry, I bet it's really nice."

"Yeah, I write it about the girl I like." He said looking away with a small blush.

"Aww, that's so cute. Does she go here or is it someone you've known previously?"

"She goes here." He said. "But she has a boyfriend, so I can't really tell her how I feel."

She pouted a bit. Poor guy, writing poetry about unrequited love. She put a hand on top of his. "Well, for what it's worth, I think you're a great guy, and you could find a great girl any day of the week." Lili spoke giving him a hopeful smile.

Ravis' heart skipped a beat when he felt her hand. "Thank you Lili, I wish you were mine." He said and started to lace his fingers with hers.

Instantly, Lili ripped her hand away from his, trying not to look at him too strangely. "I have a boyfriend." She told him, her hands going under the table.

Ravis shook his head. "I'm sorry, I know you have a boyfriend. I see him bring you coffee every sociology class. I'm not too good with talking to people, I meant like...I wish I had a girl like you. You're so sweet and kind, I'm sure you're a lovely girlfriend."

He was in their sociology class? She had never seen him in there, and it was strange that he could recall such a minor detail like that. It was so many students in that class and yet he noticed Emil bringing her coffee every class. It was just weird. 'Maybe you're just overreacting Lili.' She told herself and nodded at his words. "I understand, it's really flattering that you'd want someone like me as a girlfriend."

"Here's your food kids." The waitress spoke sitting the plates down on the table.

"Thank you." Lili spoke while Ravis gave a simple nod.

Lili bit into her chicken sandwich, nodding some. "Mmm, really good." She spoke covering her mouth.

Ravis nodded as well. "Yeah, I come here for lunch." He said picking up his pressed turkey sandwich.

"And where do you work again?"

"A storage unit." He spoke with a shrug. "Do you have a job?"

"No, though I did work as a lifeguard before coming to college. I would get a job on campus, but honestly being in a sorority is a job itself."

"Right, you're in Kappa Mu, I thought about rushing next year."

"Oh really? What fraternity?"

"Sigma Chi Gamma."

She smiled some. "Those are Kappa Mu's brothers."

"I know." He said biting into his sandwich.

"You don't really seem like the fraternity kind though. Some of those guys can be really mean, and you just don't seem like the mean type."

"Yeah, well I just recently got interested in it." He said with a shrug.

"I was the same way. My roommate just convinced me to do it, and I ended up getting into it way more than I thought. It was worth it though, I've met really lovely people in my sorority."

"I'm sure none of them are as lovely as you are." He said.

Lili looked up at him, he was very full of compliments, it was slightly unsettling. "Um, thank you, but all of my sisters are all lovely." She said drinking more of her milkshake.

"I'm sure they are, but you're the loveliest." He said reaching towards her hand.

Lili pulled away and stood abruptly from the table. "I have to go to the restroom, I'll be right back." She said and started her way only to have her arm grabbed by Ravis.

"I'm sorry, is it something I said?"

"No, no it's fine." Lili quickly reassured. "I just have to use the restroom is all. I'll be right back." She said, and pulled her arm out of his grip to quickly walk back to the bathroom.

Lili locked herself in a stall, trying to calm herself. "He's not good at this kind of stuff Lili, you just have to give him a chance. Maybe he just has a little crush on you is all and he's actually nervous." She spoke to herself.

Lili ran her hands through her hair, breathing slowly. "I can't do this." She whispered to herself.

She tried giving him a chance, but the way he looked at her made her feel weird, and everytime he touched her it made her skin crawl. She just couldn't do it. "I'll just tell him to take me home." She decided and left out of the stall to wash her hands. She grabbed some paper towels and pulled the door open with them, yelping when he saw Ravis right outside the restroom.

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just came to check on you. You were gone for—"

"Please take me home." Lili suddenly blurted.

Ravis blinked. "Ah, sure, I'll just pay for the meal and get some to-go boxes for us and we can go."

"Okay, thank you. I'm sorry to end our date like this, I'm just not feeling too well."

He nodded. "It's okay, let's get you home."

.

.

.

Ravis started up the car, driving off the diner lot. "For what it's worth, I had a nice time tonight. I'm glad I got to be with you."

"Yes it was fun. I enjoyed myself." She said looking out the window. At this point it was just a blatant lie.

"That's good. Can we do this again some other time?"

"Well I still have a boyfriend Ravis, he was only okay with me doing this because of the auction. I don't think it would be okay if we went on another date."

"Ah right, I forgot about him." He said pulling up to a chain linked gate. He reached into his compartment and grabbed what looked like a key card. "Well that's okay, I still enjoyed tonight."

"Where are we going?"

Ravis scanned the key card and drove the car inside once the gate opened. "Just through the place I work at. It's a quicker way back to campus."

'Oh thank God.' She thought to herself as they drove through the dark storage unit.

Suddenly the car came to a stop and he turned off the lights of the car.

"Ravis, what are you—"

"I can't lie to you anymore Lili, I want you. I've wanted you since we met at orientation." He said.

Lili's heart sank. "Ravis take me home." She demanded.

"Wait, just hear me out. Or better yet, read some of my poetry. I told you I wanted to show you."

"I don't want to read your poetry." She said reaching for the car handle.

Ravis locked the doors and then turned on the safety lock. He opened the glove box, and pulled out papers. "Please would you read it? I'll take you back once you read it." He offered her the papers.

Lili was visibly trembling by now, and with a shaky hand she grabbed the papers, reading them.

_Blonde hair, and green eyes.  
_ _I bet she smells like honey.  
_ _I wish she was mine._

_But alas, she's with someone not worth her time.  
_ _I could treat her better.  
_ _I know one day she's going to be mine._

_She'll see that it's me she wants  
_ _We'd have beautiful children.  
_ _I'll make her mine._

She shuffled through the papers, finding extensive stanzas of one common theme. "These are all about me?" She asked.

Ravis nodded proudly. "Mhmm, read some more. I'm sure you'll change your mind about me eventually if you keep reading."

"Actually I did change my mind about you. Instead of me thinking that you're a nice person that needs a friend, you're a psychotic, obsessive creep that needs help. I don't want to be with you! I'll never want to be with you!" She yelled at him.

Ravis frowned. "Well, if you don't want to be with me, then you owe me." He said simply.

"What?"

"I paid for you to go on this date, I paid for your dinner, I wrote poetry about you, I thought about joining a fraternity for you...I'm tired of making sacrifices for you Lili, I want my payment." He said and grabbed her arm.

"No, stop!" She yelled trying to squirm away only to find out that she had her seatbelt on. She reached to grab it but he grabbed her other arm.

"It won't be that bad Lili, I don't want that much." He said leaning close to her neck and inhaling her scent. Lili whimpered. "It's not honey, but it's still nice." He said kissing her neck.

"Ravis please don't do this." She pleaded.

"How else am I going to get it?" He asked her as he started kissing down her chest, kissing her breasts through her blouse.

She pressed her eyes closed, and tears ran down her cheeks. What had she gotten herself into?

"I can't believe I got you all to myself." He said to her, and leaned in to kiss her lips.

That's when she slammed her head into his.

His grip on her wrists fell, and she scrambled to unbuckle herself, head still swimming from the head bang. Before he could come to, she grabbed his shirt, balled her fist up, and slammed it into his jaw.

"I DON'T OWE YOU SHIT." She screamed at him and punched him hard in the face again.

"It's called being nice, and if you knew how that worked then maybe we could have been friends instead of you trying to take advantage of me!" She said and punched him again, drawing blood that time.

"You think you could get away with this because I'm as small as you?! THINK AGAIN." Another slam to the face.

"Stay the  _fuck_  away from me, and stay the  _fuck_  away from Emil!" She told him with a final punch, effectively knocking him out. Lili scrambled to find his key card, and unlocked the car doors, bursting out of the car and running as fast as she could to the gate. She used the card to unlock the gate and she slipped through, dropping the card and running back to the diner parking lot.

She rested against the side of the building and shakily grabbed her phone, calling Emil.

He answered after one ring. "Hey, are you back—"

"Come and get me, now. Please."

"What? Where are you?"

"You have my location. Please just come and get me." She said, trying to speak as evenly as possible so she wouldn't scare him more than what she probably already did.

"I'm coming." He said.

With that she hung up the phone. Lili slid down the wall, bringing her knees to her chest, and sobbed. Her body shook like a leaf, why did something like this had to happen to her? What if she didn't know how to protect herself? She could have really been raped. She was so stupid for trusting him, and having so much hope that he was still a good person. Not everyone was like her, or Emil, or Sophie. There were bad people out there, bad people that looked as innocent as Ravis. She had lost a lot of trust, and a lot of hope in the world.

Emil was there less than ten minutes after the call, he pulled up to the diner, and Lili ran to the car, hoping in. His heart sank looking at the condition she was in. Her head was bleeding, there was blood on her hand. "What happened?" He demanded.

She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it, please take me home."

"Lili your head is bleeding and there's blood on your hand, you better tell me what's going on right now!" He yelled.

"I don't want to talk about it! Take me home NOW!" She screamed back.

Emil was surprised that Lili could even scream like that. "Okay, I'll take you home." He said quietly, and drove back to campus without saying another word.

* * *

Emil pulled up to McCall hall, and parked his car. "Do you want to stay with me tonight?"

"No." She said and took her seatbelt off. "Thank you for taking me home." She said looking back at him and opened the door. "I'll see you later." She spoke as she started her way out the car.

"Lil," He called to her.

Lili looked back at him. "What?"

"I love you, I just want you to be okay." He said to her quietly.

Of all the nights to hear that come from him, she wish it wasn't tonight. She was too numb to even feel her heart soar. She wished she could just climb back into the car and cry in his arms, but instead she just closed the car door behind her. She ran into McCall hall to take an hour long shower and go to bed without speaking to Sophia.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day, Lili woke up to the sound of her alarm. She turned it off and sat up in her bed. Did last night really happen? She looked down at her hand, it was bruised and puffy. She touched her forehead, wincing at the pain. Last night really happened. She sighed, and stared blankly at the wall, unable to get out of bed. A far away voice in her head had told her to get out of bed and be productive, but it simply wasn't loud enough for her to actually listen to it. She just continued to stare at the wall.

About an hour later, Sophia's alarm came on to wake her up. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and then climbed out of bed. She paused when she saw Lili. "Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked her.

No response.

"Ah, still doing that unreasonable silent treatment, eh?" She asked and stepped on her ottoman, looking at her continue to stare blankly at the wall. She looked at the wall with Lili, and then looked back at her. "Mate? Yoohoo," She said waving a hand in front of her face.

Lili blinked. "Please leave me alone Sophie." She said quietly.

"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked looking down at her hand. "What happened to your hand? Lili please talk to me." Sophia pleaded.

"I don't want to talk, I just want to be left alone."

She didn't like the way her roommate was talking, it was scaring her. This wasn't Lili. "Okay. I'll leave you alone. Maybe you just want to have a lazy day. That's okay." She said nodding. Really, that was moreso an answer for herself. She was still worried about Lili, but if she gave herself a reason, maybe she wouldn't be as worried. Sophia stepped off of the ottoman, and went to get ready for the day.

When she was all dressed, she grabbed her bookbag, keys, and phone. "I'm going to class, I'll see you later." She said.

"Turn off the light, lock the door." Lili told her.

With a nod, Sophia turned off all the lights and went out the door, locking it behind her.

Lili laid back down, pulled the covers over her head, and went to sleep.

* * *

Sophia came back to the room in the late afternoon, finding Lili asleep. She wondered if she got up and did anything, but she doubt she did. She put her bookbag down and climbed in her bed to watch some Netflix on her laptop.

About an hour later, Lili sat up, looking at her roommate, and then climbed out of bed to use the bathroom. When she came out, she shuffled through her drawers, and pulled out a granola bar.

"Lili, are you ready to talk?" Sophia asked quietly.

"No."

"Okay, well can I look at your hand please?"

"No."

Sophia sighed. "Alright."

Lili climbed back into bed, pulling the covers back on her and ate half of the granola bar. Soon, she was back asleep.

While she was asleep, Sophia locked her in again and went to get something to eat for dinner.

.

.

.

Sophia came back from dinner, and still found Lili asleep. She felt so bad, what was she to do about her roommate? She went and grabbed her phone. Missed calls, texts, and Facetime calls all from Emil. She hadn't opened the messages, but she read the notifications.

_Are you okay?_

_Lili please text me or call me…_

_I haven't seen you all day._

_I miss you._

_Sophie said you've been asleep all day._

_I just want to hear your voice._

_I miss you so much_

_I hope you're okay Lil_

_I really do love you._

Sophia sighed. She hadn't known what was wrong with her. She felt bad for Emil, at least she could see how her roommate was doing.

Later on in the evening, Sophia readied herself for bed. She put on her pajamas and put her hair up. "Goodnight Lili." She said to her quietly, but she got no response.

* * *

The next day Lili's alarm went off again, and she woke up to turn it off and laid back down.

When it was Sophia's time to get up, she went over to Lili, and stood on the ottoman. "Still no class today?" She asked.

"No."

"Okay." Sophia said, and got ready for her day.

.

.

.

"Bye Lili, I'm going to class." She said.

"Turn off the lights, and lock the door."

"I know, I got it." She turned off all the lights, and locked the door behind her. Lili went back to sleep.

.

.

.

Instead of just Sophia coming back from her afternoon classes, Emil came in behind her, with a bag in his hand.

He stood on the ottoman, looking at her sleeping form. "Lil." He called to her.

She slowly rolled over and looked up at Emil.

"I'm wrapping your hand up today, and I'm bandaging your head." He said.

Hesitantly, Lili sat up and looked at Emil. She offered him her bruised hand.

He nodded in approval and pulled out the hand wrap. He started to wrap her hand up, pausing every time she winced. Once it was strapped down and secured, he smiled at her. "Good job." He said.

Lili simply nodded.

He reached in the bag again, and pulled out a big band-aid for her head and an antibiotic cream. He leaned forward, and applied the cream to the scar carefully, and placed the band-aid over over it. "There, good as new." He said, the last thing he pulled out of his bag was a lollipop and a couple of puppy stickers. He placed them in her lap. "You earned this for being so good in the doctor's office today."

She looked up at him, and looked down at the things he'd given her. Tears started to plop down in her lap. "For the past two days, I have felt nothing." She spoke quietly and looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. "I can't get out of bed, I can't stop sleeping, I can't eat anything. I've never been like this before. I feel like a ghost. I feel like I'm this empty shell, and the real Lili is in a glass jar screaming deep down inside me, but you can't hear her. I feel like a blank sheet of paper. I feel numb. I don't want to feel like this anymore Emil! What do I do?!" She screamed.

Emil did the only thing he could think of in that moment, and that was to hold her, hold her as tight as he could, and not let go until she was better. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back, whispering to her that it was okay.

Lili wrapped her arms around him cried. Crying felt like the only emotion that she's had for the past two days. She missed being in his arms for the past two days, and being in them at such a time of need was overwhelming to her. She felt bad that her roommate had to see her like this. There was so much hurt and numbness in her heart that didn't think she could ever be the same again. She cried until she couldn't anymore, hoping that crying in his arms would be the way to lift the hurt off of her heart. When she pulled away, she told him about her date. From beginning to end.

"Please, just don't do anything dumb, I even swore at him to get my point across. Just leave it alone, okay?" She asked looking up at him.

Emil cupped her face gently. "I only care that you're okay. That's all I care about. From the looks of your head and hand, he got what he deserved. I'm not mad. I'm proud of you Lil, I'm so damn proud of you for protecting yourself like that. It's okay that you had those...weird couple of days. You probably needed them, it's okay that you felt that way. What you went through was really scary, and it takes some time to reflect on it. Just make sure you know that those weird days aren't your normal ones. Your normal days you're beautiful, and happy, and outgoing. On your normal days you go to class, you're productive, and you eat. Those are your normal days, don't let these weird days trick you into thinking it's normal, because it's not. You're gonna have a normal day tomorrow, and you're going to be just fine, okay?"

"Okay." She said nodding with her face still in his hands.

"Can Emi have a kiss?" He asked.

"Mhmm."

Emil leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, instantly deepening the kiss. She needed this, she needed him.

Sophia looked around for a second, and cleared her throat.

Lili pulled away from Emil, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry Sophie, we try not to do that in front of you." She said before holding out her free hand.

Sophia grinned. "It's alright, I figured you needed it." She said and stood on the ottoman and grabbed her roommate's hand, smiling at her. "I missed my mate."

"I missed you too." She said. "Thank you, for letting me have my weird days. I know it was weird for you to see me like that, but you were there for me."

"Anything for my sister." She said holding her pinkie out.

Lili grinned and wrapped her pinkie around hers, and they pressed their thumbs together.

"How are you feeling love?" Sophia asked.

"Hungry."

"Get back to normal Lili, and we'll go get something to eat." Emil said.

"Yes sir." She said and climbed out of her bed to go to the bathroom for a shower.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since an update, I was out of town for the holiday and for a wedding haha But I'm back, and thanks for being patient with me, and because of that, I'm going to upload chapter 23 later on tonight. Happy reading!

Lili woke up that Friday morning, feeling better now that she was back to her normal self. Spending the rest of the day with her best friend and boyfriend helped a lot. She opened the door to the bathroom, and Sophia had been setting up to distill the next batch of moonshine. "Good morning." Lili said sitting next to her.

"Good morning. How's your hand?"

"Hurts a lot more now that I'm feeling again." She said with a half-hearted laugh.

"You should take a pain reliever or something." Sophia told her. "The important question is: how are you going to take a shower? Are you allowed to take that off?"

Lili shrugged. "I guess so. I'll just have Emil to put it back on when I see him." She said.

"I can put it on for you if you want to take a shower." Sophia said.

"Well that makes it easier." Lili said next. "Are you still making the peach moonshine?"

"Yeah, I bought some of those big cans of peaches yesterday."

"Well okay, tell me how it works out. I'm going to get ready for class."

* * *

After her Friday class was out Lili went up to her dorm with Emil in tow. Before she got to her room, she saw Elizabeta coming out of her room and locking it behind her. "Hey Lizzie." Lili called politely and waving at her.

Elizabeta looked back, smiling at the two a "Hi Lili. Is this your boyfriend?" She asked pointing at Emil.

Lili nodded. "This is Emil. Emil this is my RA Elizabeta."

"Oh hi nice to meet you. Aren't you a cutie?" Elizabeta giggled, shaking his hand.

Emil blushed some. "Thank you, nice to meet you too." He said next as she shook her hand.

Elizabeta looked at the two together. "You're just the cutest couple, ugh I can't stand it! I'll have to talk to you both sometime, but in the meantime, I have a class to get to. Happy Friday Lili and Emil." She said and waved before heading off.

"Happy Friday." They called back in unison. Then Lili turned back to her door and unlocked it, where she found Sophia still distilling from earlier with their three shot glasses sitting on the bathroom counter.

"Ugh, it's about time you guys came back. I've been dying to try this peach moonshine." She said, having already multiple jars packed and sitting aside. She grabbed one and opened it, pouring three shots. She passed them out and smiled. "Cheers lads."

"Prost."

"Skál."

And with that they downed the shots.

Lili coughed after her shot. "Still really strong." She said in a raspy voice.

"That's the Everclear." Sophia said giving a few paps to her own chest.

"I'd definitely want a jar of this." Emil said with a nod. "I don't even like peaches, but I'd probably eat them out the jar afterwards."

"It's really good, yeah? This is going to really sell; Lili you're a genius." Sophia said.

Lili grinned. "Just using my noodle." She said pointing at her head. "Oh! What if it does really good, and we start having other fruit flavors? Like mixed berries, and watermelon, and pineapple...Mmm, I want a fruit salad now."

"Later Lili, but for now, just watch the still while I'm in jars already have peaches in them, so when a jar fills up, screw the top on and put another jar under it. Easy stuff." She said waving her hand.

"Got it." Lili said nodding.

"Okay, I'm going to class. I'll see you guys later on tonight." With that, Sophia grabbed her backpack, keys, and phone and walked out the door.

Lili looked at the new jar under the still. Not even halfway yet. Lili went out the door to find Emil laying in her bed on his phone. She stood on the ottoman next to him. "So, a couple of days ago, you told me you loved me?" She asked.

Emil looked over at her, and his phone slipped out of his hands onto the bridge of his nose. He instantly sat up, groaning in pain.

Lili winced climbing into bed quickly and straddling his lap to access the damage closely. "Let me see." She said pulling his hands away from his nose. She looked at his nose, her finger rubbing up against his bridge.

"OW!"

"Sorry!"

She brushed her finger lightly against the bridge of his nose, feeling a small knot forming and some bruising. "You'll live to see another day Emi." She said smiling at him, and leaned over to plant a butterfly kiss on his nose. "All better."

Emil sat up more. "Ah, thank you." He said and wrapped his arms around her. "So, I did say that. I concur." He said nodding. "And before you ask, yes I meant it. I'm not like 'in love' with you, but I'd definitely be devastated to lose you. You're my favorite person Lili, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Lili cupped his face, smiling some at him. "I love you too. I'm sorry I didn't say it back that night, I hope you now realize why I didn't. I don't want to lose you either Emil, and I don't want anything to happen to you. I'm sorry I worried you the other night...I needed you that night, I really did, but I didn't allow myself to have you, and I don't know why." She spoke shaking her head.

"Don't worry yourself over it, I should have told you to stay the night, maybe it would have made for a better outcome." He said looking her up and down. "I'm just so glad you're okay." He said to her quietly.

She sighed laying her head on Emil's shoulder. "This week itself has been so draining. I get thrown into an auction, my date almost raped me, I probably have a concussion from slamming my head into him, I almost break my hand from punching him so hard, and I slept for two days straight afterwards. I need a vacation."

"You want to spend the weekend with my brother?"

"What?"

"After we're done delivering the moonshine, we get on the road, get there at like one in the morning."

"Emil we can't just go visit your brother. Maybe you can, but I don't want to feel like I'm imposing."

Emil scoffed. " _You_  imposing? Please, when I told Lukas that I'd be marrying you he screamed for like two minutes and said he wanted to plan the wedding.  _I'm_  imposing in my own home."

Lili laughed. "Okay, okay. Call them at least and tell them I'm coming too." She said.

Emil leaned over, grabbed his phone and called Lukas. Lukas picked up after the second ring.

"Hello, sweet brother of mine."

Emil rolled his eyes. "I'm coming home for the weekend, and—"

"Oh great, are you bringing Lili?" He asked.

"Well I was  _going_  to tell you—"

"Cause if you're not then what are you coming home for? I'd love to see my brother but if he's not bringing his girlfriend home then what's the use?"

"Lukas! Stop talking, please. I'm bringing Lili, we're staying for the weekend, we're getting on the road late so we'll be there after midnight."

"Okay I got it. We'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight." With that Emil hung up the phone. He looked up at a red faced Lili covering her mouth from her fit of giggles. "I told you you weren't imposing."

* * *

"Well what am I gonna do for the weekend if you guys are gone?" Sophia asked as she watched Lili pack a duffel bag of items.

"Spend it with your own boyfriend." She said looking back at her.

"Um, he's not my friends, you two are. What am I going to do with him for a whole weekend?"

Lili rolled her eyes. "Remember when you told me I had to spend more time with Emil to get to know him, and you made me spend a weekend in his dorm?"

"Mhmm." She nodded.

"Well time's a-wastin'." She told her before shooing her off. "Put the moonshine in the cooler so we can start on delivery."

Sophia sighed. She was right. She hadn't really spent a weekend with him because she was always busy distilling, or hanging out with Lili and Emil. And now that they weren't going to be around for the weekend, then she really had to spend it with Sebastian. But, maybe it'll work out in her favor, she really did like him, and had been wanting to spend a weekend with him. She'd finally get a chance to play with his chubby cheeks, and squish his face all she wanted. She could sketch him while he was asleep. Not to mention all the sex they were going to have, that's always great. Maybe they could even do the photoshoot he had been wanting to do with her too. It would be a nice weekend with her boyfriend.

She shook her head. "Nope. Not feeling it, I'll just go with you guys."

"Sophia, you're not going with us. You're spending time with your boyfriend, and that's final." Lili told her firmly.

Sophia frowned stomping her foot. "Well I don't wanna spend it with him. I wanna go with my friends."

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You're too dependent on us, you're also in a relationship now, and you have to start acting like it. He's going to start thing you're cheating on him with  _us_."

"Oh nonsense, he already knows I like you two more than him." She said before putting her hands on her roommate's shoulders. "Lili,  _he's_  the other man. It's you two I love."

"Stop being weird and pack the mason jars."

Sophia was now grimacing. "So that's it huh? You're just going to give me off to some strange man while you two are off having the time of your lives without me?"

"Yes."

"You're terrible." She spat before going into the bathroom to grab the mason jars.

Emil knocked on the door before pushing his head in. "Got everything packed yet?"

"No, not yet. Sophia's been distracting me." She said grabbing her brush and makeup bag and tossing it in the duffle bag.

"I have not!" She said poking her head out the bathroom door. "Emil, can I go with you guys this weekend?"

Emil looked at her before bursting with laughter. After a while he sighed to calm himself, and flatly said, "No."

"Ugh!" Sophia groaned as she fell back on the tiled bathroom floor. "I hate you guys, I hate you both." She spoke looking up at the ceiling.

Emil stepped over her into the bathroom, and started piling the mason jars into the cooler. "Why don't you want to spend the weekend with your boyfriend? I would think that you would be on board with it."

She sighed sitting up, helping him shuffle the jars in the cooler. "I am, I would want to, but I don't know." She said shaking her head. "I would miss you guys too much. I miss you guys every time I'm with him. Like the time you went to the arcade, those videos of Lili made me laugh. I was showing him, and he knew I missed you guys. I feel like I hurt his feelings sometimes when I talk about you guys because I'm with you so much, but I can't help it. You two are my best friends. Seriously."

Emil sighed. "We love you Sophie, we really do, but you can't just keep blowing your boyfriend off for us. Especially since Lili and I are in a relationship. You can be around him as much as you're around us, we'll be okay with it. Go treat yourself to a really nice weekend with him, you deserve it." He said.

She thought for a minute. "You're right, I should treat myself. I need a break from you two, and it doesn't mean I'm breaking up with you two, but you know, I think we just need a break from each other." She said before putting a hand on Emil's arm. "No hard feelings."

Emil shook his head. "None taken."

* * *

"230, 240, 250." Lili said as she counted the money and putting it in Sophia's hand. "That's how much we made tonight."

She nodded. "Great night." Sophia said and climbed out of the parked car. She opened up the trunk, and pulled out the last three jars. "And we've got one left for all of us." She said grinning.

Lili smiled some. "You sure you don't want us to take you to Roody hall?" She asked her roommate.

"No I'm fine. Sebastian is meeting me here. I'm just putting the money away and grabbing my bag." She said with a shrug.

"Oh, well okay. I'll text you when we get there. I love you." She said hugging her.

Sophia hugged her back tightly. "Okay, I love you too. Enjoy your weekend." With that, Lili let her go and watched her run back into McCall hall before going back to the car.

"Ready to go?" Emil asked.

"Mhmm." She said strapping on her seatbelt. "Do you want me to do any of the driving? Or do you want me to stay up with you?"

Emil bagged out of his parking space. "You don't have to drive, just stay up with me. I'll just drive the whole way there because I know where I'm going. Do you want to stop for food and a restroom break before we get on the highway?"

"Yes please."

"Alright."

.

.

.

Sophia opened their door and stashed away their money in their jar. Then she straightened up the bathroom, putting away the still and putting the jugs behind the curtains. Soon she got a call from Sebastian and she answered a moment later. "Hey, are you outside?" She asked.

"Yes, are you all packed?"

Sophia grabbed her duffle bag. "Yeah I'm all packed. It's just a bag, you make it sound like I have a suitcase or something." She said with a small laugh.

"Why did you pack so light? I told you we were going somewhere."

Sophia frowned. "You didn't tell me where we were going. Where are we going?"

"Well you said Lili and Emil were leaving for the weekend, so I figured you'd want to too. So I was going to take a jet out to Italy this weekend and let you see some of the art museums, go to a nice dinner, take some pictures. You know, tourist stuff in my own country."

Sophia stopped in her tracks. He was taking her to Italy? _Fucking Italy_? She hadn't known if she should scream at him or cry tears of joy honestly. She hated him for doing this. Why couldn't he just be normal and spend the weekend with her playing board games and watching movies? No, he had to whisk her away on a  _jet_  to  _fucking Italy_. Who could say no to Italy?

"Soph? You're not saying anything. Don't know if you're shocked or angry." He said slowly over the phone.

She blinked. "I-I don't know what to say."

"Uh, how about 'can you come upstairs and help me repack?"

A slow smile came up on her face. "Can you come upstairs and help me repack?"

"I'll be upstairs in a minute."

* * *

Lili looked out the window, moving her head to the music on the radio as they drove on the highway. She was looking forward to the weekend, and spending it with her boyfriend and his family. She looked over at Emil. "What time you think we'll be there again? One?"

"Eh, 1 or 1:30." He said shrugging.

"Okay, would Lukas still be up?" She asked.

"I hope not."

Lili shuffled in the food bag for french fries. "Want some fries?"

"Put them in my mouth please."

Lili leaned over, grabbing a few fries and putting them in his mouth. "Good?"

He nodded as he chewed on the fries.

Lili smiled some. They should do this more often. It was only their first time on the road together, and she was enjoying it. "We should plan a real trip together, like for Christmas or Spring Break. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Maybe go to the beach or camping or something?" He asked.

"Mhmm, I'd love that. Me, you, and Sophie all together on a getaway vacation."

"Sounds like a plan." He said as he continued to drive.

Lili looked out the window. "I hope Sophia's okay, but at least she's with Sebastian to keep her company."

"She'll be fine Lili. She can have all the fun she wants with her boyfriend."

"Okay, I'll stop worrying about her, I just hope she has a good weekend."


	23. Chapter 23

Emil pulled up into the driveway of his own home and turned off the car. "You know, it wasn't that bad driving myself." He said. Emil had drove long distance before, but never a four hour drive. The most he had ever drove was probably two hours, and that was to a beach with some friends.

Lili smiled and leaned over grabbing his face and kissing his cheek. "You did so good by yourself too. You got us here safe and sound."

He chuckled when he kissed her cheek. "You surprised me too. You didn't fall asleep." He said nudging her.

Lili rolled her eyes. "You say that like I fall asleep easily."

"You do. You're such a sleepy girl."

"Can we just go inside now?"

"Why, so you can go to bed?" He teased and opened the door.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to have a good nap." She said getting out the car as well.

Emil tossed Lili the keys. "Open the door." He said and grabbed the bags out the car.

Lili caught the keys with ease and bounded up the stairs to unlock the door.

Emil walked up the stairs looking at her. "You didn't open the door?"

"It's unlocked but I just didn't want to walk in. This isn't my house."

"You're so polite." He said and pushed the door open with his free hand. Lili walked in behind her slowly looking around at the dark house. It seemed nice if the lights were on, but it was nice in the dark too. She followed Emil into the house, up the stairs, and stopping at the first door on the right. He poked his head in the door. "Hey, we're here, but we're going to bed because Lili's sleepy." He said.

Lili shook her head. He made it sound like she was a little baby. She could stay up with the big kids. She could stay up and have all the fun she wanted just like everyone else. It was Friday night and they were going to have a good night together.

Emil lead Lili further down the hall and pushed another door open. He turned on the lights. "Welcome to my room." He said putting the bags in a chair.

Lili grinned looking around Emil's room. She didn't expect him to have much, and he didn't. He was a simple guy with a simple (and clean) room. A desk, a television, a bookshelf full of books and pictures. Shelves with prizes that probably came from arcades. What a nice little room for him. She walked over, picking up a picture of a child Emil and a younger Lukas. He was even cute as a kid.

"The bathroom is at the end of the hall, but I'll give you a tour of the house in the morning. Do you want to sleep by the window?"

"I'm actually not sleepy." She said putting the picture back down. "I want to stay up and do something because I can and I don't get sleepy." She said. "We should have a night on the town." She said and went to her bag to open it.

"Lili it's one in the morning, everyone's asleep, everything is closed. We have nothing to do but sleep."

"Nope, we've got something to do." She said and pulled out the two jars of moonshine, giving one to Emil. "You think I'm such a big baby that sleeps all the time, stay up and drink with me tonight."

Emil looked down at the mason jar and up at Lili. "I never thought you'd say those words to me." He said and grabbed her hand to lead her back downstairs and outside to the sun porch. He sat down on one end of a couch and Lili on the other end. She unscrewed the top off of her drink and held it up. "To the Lil and Emi show, may we have a good weekend with each other."

Emil held up his drink as well. "A good, well deserved weekend." He said and clinked his glass against hers.

And with that, they both took a drink out of their jars.

Lili cleared her throat, the alcohol not hitting her as hard as when she first tasted it. She looked around on the sun porch. A couple of tables and chairs, the couch they were sharing, seating under a bay window, and a nice sound system. "This is a really nice porch." She complimented as she continued to look around.

"Thanks. I had my graduation party back here." He said looking around at it.

"At my house we just have a deck, that goes out into the backyard which is just a really big garden with a little stream. I should tell Vash that we need a sun porch."

"Sun porches are great. I don't have to go outside while being outside. It's a great solution."

"And what does Luaks and Mathias do again?" She asked.

"Mathias is an engineer and Lukas works for the Board of Education for this school district." He said. "Lukas actually presented my diploma at graduation."

Lili smiled. "That's so cute. You never told me that."

"I try not to tell anyone that."

Lili took another sip as she curled up on the couch. "Stop being so mean towards your brother. I like him and I want him to tell me everything he knows about you."

Emil laughed. "You're only going to get a bunch of baby pictures of me not smiling in any of them, and probably a couple of stories of how I was probably doing something I shouldn't have."

"Sounds good to me." She said.

.

.

.

Well, it was official, they were drunk.

Lili had laid across the couch with her head in Emil's lap. She picked up her jar, and then Emil's. "You drank so much more than me." She said looking up at him.

Emil shrugged as he ran his hands through her hair. "I used to drink a lot before I came to college. First time I've been drunk in a while." He said and screwed the top back on his drink.

Lili screwed the top back onto her drink as well. "Can we listen to music?" She asked.

"Sure." He said and grabbed the remote on the side table next to him, and turned on the music, turning it down low enough so they wouldn't disturb the house.

Lili smiled as she listened to the music. She sat up and straddled Emil's lap so that she was facing him. "This is our first time drinking together." She said smiling at him. "I've never seen you drunk before."

"Well, how do you like it?"

"I love it as much as I love you."

Emil cupped her cheeks. "You're so sweet, I fucking love you a lot."

Lili giggled. "You love me so much you had to swear?"

"I swear a lot more drunk, I'm sorry. I'm more affectionate too, so if you want to lose that virginity of yours tonight, drunk Emil is totally willing to take it." He said and kissed her forehead before kissing her lips.

Lili put her hands on his shoulders. "Emil, if anything, I'd just want to ride your face."

Emil had been surprised in the reply. "Drunk Lili is definitely a bold one." He said and kissed her again and pulling her close, kissing her neck. "But, drunk Emil wouldn't mind a face ride. You can ride whatever the fuck you want on me."

Lili laughed. "I've never heard you talk like this."

"You were the one that said you wanted to ride my face. You started it."

"Okay maybe I did." She said wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. "But, I was just being honest." She said.

"Okay, well if we're being honest, I just want to fuck the shit out of you."

Lili bit her lip. She couldn't believe Emil was talking to her like this, but she liked it. She wanted it, and she wanted him. Badly. She shifted under him, feeling a bulge forming from his pants. From the feel of it, he wanted her too. "Be honest with me again: How many girls have you had sex with in your bed?"

"Only two, and they we're both my girlfriends. But, I'm trying to make it three tonight."

She was satisfied with that answer. "Okay, well if we do end up having sex, will I still get to ride your face?"

"Oh yes ma'am, you can definitely still ride my face." He said nodding. "And we could be heading upstairs to start on that, but you want to play Goddamn 20 Questions."

Lili giggled. "I'm sorry. I need answers first. Do you have a condom?"

"Yep."

"Okay, well you've got to promise me you won't hurt me, or make fun of me in bed."

Emil kissed her again. "I promise I won't Sweets. Now can I  _please_  take you upstairs now?" He asked as his hands started to ride up her sides.

"Sweets? That was so cute." She said cupping his face and kissing him. Lili giggled shaking her head at him. "All I wanted to do was drink with you, stay up all night, maybe watch a couple of movies."

"But now I'm going to fuck you to sleep, crazy how tables turn so quickly." He said and grabbed the mason jars off the floor. He offered Lili her jar. "That one is yours right?"

Lili took the jar, swirling it around some. "Yeah, I ate the peaches out of mine."

Emil looked over at her, smirking. "Those peaches ain't the only thing getting ate tonight."

Lili laughed. "I can't take you seriously with all your drunken sexual innuendos."

Emil took her hand and lead her back into the house. "Drunken sexual innuendos are my specialty, especially drunk."

She climbed off of him and offered her hand to him. "Whisk me away to your room to  _gently_  fuck me to sleep."

Emil took her hand and Lili pulled him up off the couch. "Gently fuck you to sleep huh? I think I can manage that." He said leading her up to his room once more.

Lili kicked off her shoes and crawled up to the head of the bed. Emil crawled into bed after her, he turned off the light, and turned on his bedside lamp. He shuffled through his nightstand and pulled out a condom, and lubricant, putting it to the side. "I remember you telling me you wanted to ride my face?" He asked reaching down to unbutton her pants.

She reached over and pulled off his shirt. "Yes, I remember saying that. I concur." She said with a nod.

Emil pulled her pants and underwear off of her. "Well ma'am, keep your arms and legs inside The Emil at all times. No cellphones or flash photography, and enjoy the ride." He said and kissed her one last time before lying back on the bed so his head was near the end of the bed.

Lili crawled over him, and Emil grabbed her hips, pulling her down to him and instantly going to work. Her eyes closed and her head fell back. She liked oral sober, but a face ride drunk was a new level. She grabbed handfuls of covers as she started to move her hips against his tongue.

Emil sucked and licked her, enjoying how wet she was already. He had been waiting on this kind of sex since they first started dating. He had wanted to absolutely worship her body and show her just how much he could make her scream. Lili was honestly pretty loud in bed, and had a cute moan he could listen to over and over. He'd definitely be hearing it a lot tonight.

She moaned when she felt his tongue go deeper into her, thrusting in and out. Her hands tightened on the cover when he sucked on her clit. Drunk or not this would definitely be worth remembering in the morning. Lili breath started to thin, and her face became more and more flushed. It was starting to become too much for her already, and her hips moved faster against him.

He kept up with her with ease, keeping his tongue going for as long as her hips were moving. She couldn't stop moaning, and his pants were getting tighter by the moment just hearing them. Emil wouldn't be able to take much of it himself.

"Emil, Emil I'm going to cum." She panted, her hand going to grip his hair.

Emil grabbed her hips once more, and pulled her off off him. "Man, you really know how to ride a face Lil." He said.

Lili cupped her cheeks grinning. "I do?" She gushed. "I don't know, I think it had a lot to do with my boyfriend under me." She giggled as she moved to lay back against the headboard.

Emil crawled up to her, kissing her neck. "Hearing you moan like that got me so worked up." He said between kisses. "Definitely ready to fuck you to sleep." He said and hiked up her shirt before pulling off of her.

Lili reached to unbutton his pants, laughing at the tent in his boxers. "You certainly look ready." She said and eased down his pants along with his boxers.

Emil reached back and unclasped her bra, pulling down the straps and pulling it off of her. His hands ran up her sides and found their way to her small breasts. "Look at how small your breasts are. I love them, they're the perfect size for squishing." He said as he started to squeeze her breasts.

Lili swatted his hands away. "I knew it! I knew small breasts were a fetish. You just happen to not be with a girl bigger than a 'C' cup? I knew it was too good to be true."

"Alright maybe they are a preference, but hey, no hate to big breasts. Can I play with your boobs again? I was having a little fun."

Lili rolled her eyes. "Go ahead."

Grinning, Emil reached down and took her breasts into his hands once more, squeezing them and massaging them.

Lili arched her back, moaning some. Lili reached down, and pulled his boxers down until his cock was out. And her hand wrapped around it, slowly stroking it.

Emil let out a small moan. "Do you know what you're doing down there?"

"Nope, but if you're going to play with my breasts I might as well keep myself busy too." Lili said as she continued to stroke.

Emil kissed at her neck, sucking and nipping at the soft skin which made her moan. He moved his kisses down to her collarbone, and his hands moved from her breasts to her slit. His finger slid up down against her still soaked slit, another moan came from Lili. Her hand slowed down on Emil's cock when he felt his finger start to push into her.

The feeling made her squirm but it wasn't too unfamiliar. She had used tampons for years, and while it was oddly similar, but it wasn't exactly the same to her.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" He asked her, his free hand cupping her cheek.

She shook her head. "No, I'm okay."

Emil nodded and started to pump his finger into her slowly.

Lili gasped some and tensed slightly. She definitely wasn't used to that.

"Relax Sweets. I don't want to hurt you, you have to relax a little bit."

"I know, it just feels weird." She said shifting in the bed.

"I know it feels weird now, but you'll get used to it." He said and reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

She held onto his hand, slowly starting to relax again. When he felt her start to relax again, his finger started to pump faster. Her body started to relax, and her back was arched again from the pleasure. "Can you, ah, add another finger Emi?" She asked.

Nodding, Emil slid another finger into her. "Getting used to it?"

"Mhmm, it feels..nice." She said her hips moving against his fingers, and Emil pumped faster into her. Lili gasped and moaned from the pleasure. "Faster." She moaned out, and faster he went.

Her hips were riding against his fingers, desperate for more. "Emil, I need more. I need more of you, I want all of you." She breathed.

Emil released her hand and reached over grabbing the condom. He ripped it open with his teeth. "Will you put it on for me?" He asked her.

Nodding, Lili grabbed the condom and rolled it onto Emil with ease. "Look at that, sex education paid off in high school." She said with a giggle.

Emil chuckled as well. "Good job Lil." He said and pulled his fingers out of her and leaned over to squirt a decent size of lubricant into his hand, applying it to the outside of the condom. "It may hurt a little, okay? Give me your hand, try to stay relaxed, and look at me."

Lili nodded. "Go ahead." She said.

Emil slowly pushed into her, the grip she had on his hand tightened and her body started to tense. Emil grunted slightly, she was tight, but it felt amazing to him. Lili kept her eyes on him, biting her lip to help tolerate the discomfort.

Once he was fully pushed in, he nodded at her smiling some. "Good job, you're doing so good Lil." He said and leaned down to kiss her. "How do you feel? Do you need me to wait before I start going?"

"Yes please."

"Take your time, I'll just be in you." He said with a small shrug. "Would a little conversation help? Or should I kiss you some more? I don't know what'll make you more comfortable, I've never taken a girl's virginity before. I really want to kiss you some more though."

"You can kiss me some more." She spoke with a small smile.

Emil leaned down to her, kissing her deeply. He sucked on her lips and tangled his tongue with hers. Lili reached up and wrapped her arms around the nape of her neck. She couldn't believe this was happening. She was really losing her virginity to a guy worth losing it to. Lili pulled away from their kiss. "You can move now."

Nodding, Emil started to pump into her, slowly. She tensed at the feeling, but quickly became relaxed again. Lili spread her legs apart further, trying to be as welcoming and relaxed as she could. He moved faster into her, and Lili arched her back and moaned his name.

Lili was enjoying it. She was actually enjoying it. Had she been less scared since she was drunk? Maybe, but either way it went, her fear of it hurting and being uncomfortable disappeared. At this point it just felt  _good_.

She moved her hips with his, going with his rhythm. "Faster." She moaned out, and Emil moved his hips faster. Her breath was thinning, and her face was becoming more and more flushed. Was this what she was missing out on? God she never wanted to miss out on something this good ever again.

Emil was thrusting in her fast and deep, the moaning never stopping. And hearing her moan his name made it even better. He smirked looking down at her. "Are you close?" He asked.

She nodded. She was so close, she just needed something to push her over the edge…

Emil took her free hand and guided it to her clit. "Have at it Lil."

Her hand began to rub her clit, gasping at the pleasure. She could have been doing this earlier, why oh why had he decided to show her this now? Now she really had been on the edge. After a few more strokes she had came and had been on the verge of screaming, but Emil quickly covered her mouth and she screamed into his hand. Soon after Emil had came as well, caving in at the pleasure. Emil pulled out of her and pulled off the condom, tossing it in the trash next to the bed. Then he laid next to her in the bed, pulling the covers over both of them.

Lili was still working to catch her breath, but moved closer to Emil so he could wrap his arms around her. Emil did just that, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. His hands reached up to her breasts, and started to squish at them yet again. "So, how's it feel to no longer be a virgin?"

"I feel the same. Better since I've orgasmed, but the same. Tired though." She muttered.

"Ah, so I did fuck you to sleep. Mission accomplished."

Lili gave a tired laugh. "Shut up." She told him. "We should try doing that again sober, is it just as good sober?"

"It's great sober too."

"Good...Would you call me Sweets sober?"

"Probably not."

That made Lili frown. "At least you're honest. Would you still call me Sweets drunk?"

"I will call you Sweets whenever I'm drunk. Lil on the streets, and Sweets in the sheets."

That made Lili laugh. "You're so silly." She said and turned over to him. "Thanks for showing me your fun, sexy, drunk side tonight. I had fun."

"And thank you, for riding my face and letting me fuck you to sleep. I had fun too."

Lili yawned some. "You're welcome...Since I'm still drunk, I just wanted to tell you that we're probably going to have a lot of sex now that I've lost my virginity and know how good it feels."

"Sober Emil will love the sound of that."

Lili leaned over, giving him a sweet kiss on his lips. "Goodnight Emi."

"Goodnight Sweets."

* * *


	24. Chapter 24

Lili and Emil slept until the late morning, both of them waking up to the sound of Lili groaning.

"Lili what's wrong?" Emil mumbled rolling over.

"I'm hungover and my vagina hurts." She muttered back.

"Sex will do that to you." Emil said sitting up. "Go get in the shower, Lukas probably made breakfast downstairs."

"You're not going to come shower with me? You save water that way you know." Lili said smiling some.

"Well, I wanted to sleep more. But if you insist."

* * *

"It's about time you two got up." Lukas said standing up from the table once they came into the dining room. He hugged his brother tightly, and kissed both his cheeks, which made Emil squirm in annoyance. Then he went over to hug Lili. "I'm glad you two made it safe. I made breakfast, you can eat all you want." He said giving her a small smile.

Lili smiled at Lukas. He was so nice. "Thank you Lukas, and thank you for having me here."

"Of course, we're happy to have you Lili." He said sitting back down across from Mathias, who had been busy reading the morning paper. Lukas flicked the paper. "Stop reading, Emil is here for the weekend with his girlfriend."

"What is so wrong about reading the comic section at the table with other people?" He asked as he folded the paper back up and smiled, waving at Lili. "Lili right? I don't think we formally met when Emil was moving in. I'm Mathias, Lukas' husband." He said reaching across to shake her hand.

Lili politely shook his hand, smiling at him. "Nice to meet you Mathias."

"So what brings you here for the weekend?" Lukas asked as he made his plate for breakfast.

"Just wanted a change of scenery for a weekend." Lili said making her own plate as well.

Emil poured them both a cup of coffee. "It'll help." He said to her and pointed at the cream and sugar on the table.

Nodding, Lili grabbed for the cream and sugar, adding it to her coffee.

Lukas observed the two, stirring his own cup of coffee. "Well we're happy to have you. How is school going?"

"It's going well. I brought some of my books to catch up on studying. I missed a couple classes from a recent...incident." She said gesturing to the brace on her hand.

"Ah, I understand. Never stop working." He said and continued to eat. "Is there anything you want to do while you're here? Maybe go see a movie, a nice stroll in the park together?"

"I'm not sure. I'm sure Emil will find something for us to do." She spoke picking up the coffee cup with her non-dominant hand.

"Well, if you're not doing anything this afternoon, I have a list of things that need to be picked up for tonight's dinner."

Emil looked up at his brother in annoyance. "Really? You're making me grocery shop while I'm here?"

"It's not like you weren't doing it before you moved out. Besides, it would be nice if you went out and showed Lili the town."

"Okay fine." He said as he continued to eat breakfast.

"So Lili, tell me about yourself."

"Um, well, I'm a marine biology major. I'm in a sorority, I play volleyball, I've done gymnastics, I know how to play the piano and violin, and I seem to have gotten your brother into marrying me one day." She said looking over at Emil.

Lukas smiled at her. "Well, you seem to be a good girl to get married to. You make such a cute couple."

"Thank you." She said nodding. "You have a very lovely home by the way. Your sun porch is gorgeous."

"Oh thank you so much Lili. I take a lot of pride in my house, and getting compliments on it just shows that I'm doing something right."

"I did the bathroom, personally I think it's the best looking room in the house." Mathias chimed in.

Lili giggled. "It is a very lovely bathroom. Nice shade of blue."

"See I told you the blue was nice!" Mathias said. "He said it was ugly." He said pointing at Lukas.

"It's ugly because it's too much blue. The rugs are blue, the shower curtain is blue, the towels are blue, the paint is blue. I'm surprised the toilet isn't blue."

"The toilet water is."

Lili giggled at their conversation. They must have argued like this all the time, she thought it was entertaining, and cute.

"We're going to get started on today's events, where's the grocery list? In the kitchen?"

"Mhmm." Lukas said with a nod.

"Alright, come on Lil let's go to the store." He said standing up.

Lili stood up as well. "Breakfast was delicious Lukas, thank you. I'd love to talk with you more."

"Don't worry, we will." He said with a small wave.

With that Lili and Emil left the dining room.

Lukas looked over at Mathias. "What do you think? About Lili."

He shrugged. "She seems nice, innocent enough."

"Not the way she was moaning Emil's name last night." Lukas said rolling his eyes. "But, outside of their sex life, she does seem nice. Weird that she's okay with her brother telling her that she has to marry Emil. And Emil is oddly okay with it? I feel like I'm missing something, or maybe it's them missing something."

"We should talk to them separately."

"I was just going to say the same thing. I like when we're on the same page." He said and leaned over to kiss him and took his face in his hands. "It's rare, but nice." With that Lukas gave him another kiss on his lips. "Now help me with putting up breakfast."

* * *

Lili looked around as Emil drove through the city of his town. It was so cute and quaint. Buildings pressed together, small owned businesses, cobblestone paths, it was nice. Emil parked on the street near a local grocery store, and Lili hopped out, following him inside. Lili grabbed a cart, pushing it around while Emil looked at the list.

"Okay, so beef, potatoes…" He muttered as he read of the list of things. "This stuff is pretty easy to find. Lukas gave me his credit card, so if you want to go shopping afterwards, we can."

"Emil don't offer your brother's money to me and throw him into financial stress." Lili said grabbing a loaf of bread from the shelf.

"All I'm saying is that they have some really nice stores in town that I think you'd like."

"Well after grocery shopping we'll go look around." She said and pushed the cart off for their grocery adventure.

…

"Milk?"

"Got it."

"Eggs?"

"Got those too."

"And potatoes?"

"Yep."

Lili nodded. "Well okay. We've got everything." She said and shuffled the cart through the queue line. When they got to the front she greeted the clerk with a small smile and wave.

"Hi how are you two today?" She asked happily as she started to scan their food items.

"We're good thank you." Lili said smiling at her as she put the things on the counter.

The clerk glanced at Emil for a couple times before snapping her fingers. "Emil!"

Emil looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"Addison, we hooked up in high school." She said with a small giggle.

Lili gripped the cart tightly before loosening her grip. She gave a small sigh. She was not one of those crazy girlfriends that never let her boyfriend talk to anyone. They hooked up in high school, no big deal. It was only small talk.

"Oh yeah, yeah I remember, in the treehouse in your backyard." Emil spoke with a small smile as he took the card out to pay for the grocery.

"Yep, I can't believe you remember that." She said with a laugh and looked up at him. "You know, I still have that same treehouse, and since you're in town—" The girl started only to gasp when Lili snatched the card away from Emil and shoved him out the way.

"Take the groceries to the car Emil." She said as she swiped the card.

.

.

.

Lili put her seatbelt on, looking out the window.

Emil climbed in the driver's seat, looking over at her. "You're mad at me aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?" She asked sarcastically.

He sighed. "It wasn't anything—"

"Oh being offered to hook up by a girl you hooked up with before in front of your  _girlfriend_  isn't anything?"

"She didn't know you were my girlfriend!"

"Because you hadn't mentioned it at all!"

"In what way would you have came up in the conversation we were having Lil? You were standing right there next to me!"

"And she  _still_  had the audacity to flirt with you in front of me!" She shook her head, crossing her arms. "Just because I'm with you doesn't mean other people assume I'm your girlfriend. She certainly wasn't going to ask if I was your girlfriend, so had it not occurred to you to say, 'by the way this is my girlfriend.'? You're in town with girls you slept with in high school with your girlfriend, the least you could do is introduce me to people so they know who I am so they won't think I'm just your cousin or something."

Emil sighed. She was right, and he knew she was right. "I'm sorry Lil, I should have said something a little earlier. But in my defense, I didn't know she'd flirt with me."

Lili looked over at him. "I forgive you. I didn't think she'd flirt with you either honestly. A bold one, that Addison was." She spoke shaking her head and her eyes narrowed.

"Thank you. Now that we've got that out of the way, do you want to go look at some of the shops in town?"

"So one of the girls that works there can remind you that you had sex in the dressing room?"

Emil looked at her in disbelief. "What happened to forgiving me?"

"I'm sorry, cheap shot. I was still sulking a little."

* * *

Lili had been in on the sun porch, sitting by the bay window, studying. Since she had missed two days of class, she really needed to catch up so she wouldn't fall behind. But she was making progress. Only a couple of more sections to go and then she could move on to the next subject.

"Lili?"

She looked up, finding Lukas poking his head into the sun porch. "Are you busy?"

"Just studying, but I can talk." She said moving over so he could sit with her.

Lukas came in, closing the door behind him and went to sit next to Lili. "Did you enjoy your day out in the town with Emil?" He asked.

She shrugged. "It was nice." She said.

"Well that's good." He said nodding. "So, your brother decided that you could only date Emil unless he was going to marry you? Is Emil the one you want to marry?"

"Well he's my first boyfriend, so I'm not too sure. But at the rate it's going with him, I think I wouldn't mind marrying him."

"Okay, first of all, that didn't sound like a very confident yes. And second of all, he's your first boyfriend, and that's a big step to think about for the future, you know? You have to marry your first boyfriend? It doesn't sound all too fair to you Lili."

"Well no it doesn't, but it's what my brother thinks is best for me." She said looking over at him.

"And he decides everything for you?"

"No, not everything. Just where I went to school, and he's really picky over the things I wear and eat, and he picked my car out for me, and chose the after school programs and activities I'd be in, and...I don't know how to make it stop Lukas." She whispered.

"You don't know how to make it stop?"

She shook her head. "He's picked so much out for me already, the only thing I did pick was my major, and Emil to be my boyfriend and now, future husband. I love Emil, he's my favorite person, but I can't help but feel like he's stuck with me." She said and rubbed at her eyes, to keep from crying.

Lukas leaned over, wrapping an arm around her. "You are an adult that is capable of making her own decisions. I'm glad you chose Emil, because it's one of the few things that you've got to chose in your life. Talk to your brother, because chances are, he still sees you as a baby that isn't capable of picking things out for herself, when obviously you aren't. If you continue to let him pick things out for you, it won't stop. You have to tell him that you're able to chose your own path. And talk to Emil, and ask him if he feels obligated with you. But I'll tell you this, knowing Emil, he won't feel like that."

"I should go and talk to him." She spoke closing her book and then leaving to talk to Emil.

.

.

.

Mathias knocked on Emil's door, and poked his head inside, finding him surfing around on the internet.

Emil looked up. "Hey Dane." He spoke before his eyes went back to his laptop.

Mathias came in and sat on the bed.

Emil looked up at him narrowing his eyes. Whenever he came in and sat on the bed, he knew it wasn't good. "What?"

"So you're getting married huh?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, in like a decade."

"You know what's crazy, is that it sounds like it's a joke, when I know full well that it's not because in probably a decade, you will be married. You'll be married to Lili."

"Yeah, can't wait."

"I'm sure you can't Em, but have you just thought about the time between now and then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're only a freshman in college, you've got a lot of life to live still. After college, there's a lot going on, maybe you want to try dating other people, or flirt at a bar with cute girls, or travel the world. Even during college a lot can change, it's the re-inventing years, and you've got to give yourself and Lili a chance to experience it. I know that you've got a lot of experience under your belt from high school. Slept with girls, got drunk at parties, all of that good stuff. But what about LIli? Has she had a chance to do any of that? You ever thought that maybe it would be fun for her too?"

Emil thought for a moment. He is her first boyfriend, while she was his third girlfriend. They were different in terms of experience, and Lili barely has any. And now, she couldn't even experience dating because she's marrying him. She's stuck with him.

"You're thinking about it aren't you?"

He put his laptop to the side. "I'm going to go talk to her." He said and climbed out of bed to go and talk to her.

He left out his room, and Lili left out of the sun porch and they met at the staircase of the house. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. She started to climb the steps, while he started his way down, and they met on the middle of the staircase. Emil sat down on the stair, and Lili sat down next to him.

"I guess we're both here to talk huh?" He asked her.

Lili nodded. "Do you want to go first?"

"Ladies first."

She nodded again, putting her hands on her knees. "So, I was thinking about our whole marriage arrangement that my brother has put together for the both of us, and I realized that maybe it's not very considerate of your feelings? I mean, you were just roped into marrying me later because you wanted to date me now. And I'm really glad you said yes, because I do love you, and I think marrying you in the future would make me happy, but I just feel like you're stuck with me because my brother decides everything for me...Do you feel stuck with me?"

Emil blinked at her words. "You think  _I_  feel stuck with  _you_?" He asked before shaking his head. "No of course not, if anything, I feel like you're stuck with me. I'm your first boyfriend, and now you're marrying me in the future. That's not a lot of room to date anyone outside of me if you wanted to. We're only freshman in college, and a lot can change Lil. You may not even want to be with me in three years, and that's okay. Because, maybe you want to look for something different in someone else that you just couldn't find in me, but you can't do that if you're stuck with marrying me...Do you feel stuck with me?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't feel stuck with you, I feel like I'd want to be with you three years from now, and ten years from now, and a hundred years from now. I want to be with you Emil, I know that much."

"And I want to be with you too Lili, I can't tell you how many times I've thought of our future together. With a house, and kids, and pets. I wouldn't want that with anyone else but you."

"So if we know that we want to be with each other in the end, can we promise that we'll end up with each other?"

He nodded. "And if it so happens to be a break up in between to see other people, then that would be okay too. Just so we won't feel obligated to each other. Because I want you to have experience dating other people if you want to date other people."

"And I don't want you to feel scared of breaking up with me because Vash threatened to kill you. I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"So to put it in our terms, The Lil and Emi Show will always find it's way back on the air, despite any hiatuses."

Lili grinned. "Exactly."

"Promise?" He asked holding a pinky out to her.

She wrapped her pinky around his. "Promise." She told him, and leaned up to kiss him.

"Well, this was nice, I feel like I should give you a promise ring or something."

"It's okay, I don't need a promise ring." She said putting a hand on his leg.

"Oh! I have an idea." He said and stood, going back up to his room, and coming back down a few moments later. "I never wear it, and our hands are pretty much the same size, so here." He said and offered her his class ring.

Lili smiled and slipped the ring on her ring finger, perfect fit. "I love it, thank you." She said smiling at him, and leaned over to kiss him gently.

"So if you ever have to punch someone in the face again, it'll hurt even more."

* * *

"So as soon as one of them came up to him, he started screaming, and he just didn't stop screaming." Lukas said with a laugh. "I had to pick him up and run him back to the car. That was the last time we went to the circus."

Lili giggled at the story. "I didn't think you were afraid of clowns Emil."

Emil rolled his eyes. "Their smiles are too big, and they pull dirty tricks on you. They're very untrustworthy."

"You were a bad seed afraid of clowns."

"I was not a bad seed!"

"You used to catapult corn across restaurants with a spoon."

Lili gasped. "Emil!" She exclaimed in a surprised voice.

"Okay maybe that was a little uncalled for."

" _And,_ you used to draw in my lesson plans when I was a teacher."

"In my defense Mathias said it would be nice if I drew you something that you could find."

"I meant like on a sticky note, not in lesson plans Emil. Don't try to take the heat off yourself thirteen years later."

"I am  _not_  trying to take the heat off myself.  _You_  were an accomplice."

"Oh don't even get me started on their crazy antics together. One time for my birthday," Lukas started.

"Here we go." Mathias and Emil muttered at the same time.

"They had this idea to make cookies for me as a surprise. So I had been gone, running errands and such, and they were alone in the house. Needless to say, by the time I came back there was flour all over the counters, egg splatters on the  _ceiling_ , burnt cookies in the oven, and my favorite thing, a store bought pack of cookies on the counter." Lukas said as he shook his head.

Lili covered her mouth to hide her giggles, her face had been red from laughing so much. She almost wished she had this much humor in her house growing up. Vash was always so serious, too serious. She liked listening to stories like this and hearing the memories they had.

"So Lukas, how did you and Mathias meet?" Lili asked them once her giggles subsided.

Lukas picked up his glass of wine, thinking about it for a moment. "Well we met when I was still teaching, and he was still in construction." He explained. "The school was getting renovated, and he was the one over all of that. So he was there everyday, and at one point the construction was right outside my classroom. We'd argue all the time, yelling through the window about how loud they were being during reading time, and how they couldn't help being loud. But, despite all the arguing and yelling we did, he asked me out on a date, and I hadn't known what compelled me to say 'yes.'"

"But, all worth it in the end." Mathias said with a nod.

"I guess you could say it was worth it." He spoke waving his hand. "Emil liked Mathias, which was way different from other men I had dated. They had hit it off extremely well, and I was so surprised that Emil listened to him when he told him to stop doing things, let him pick him up, and let him take him out to places. I remembered they went to go see a movie in theaters, and Mathias came back with him and said everything was fine, and he liked the movie."

"And he looked at me with confusion and asked, 'he didn't start screaming?' And then I was confused because I never imagined Emil as a screamer, he barely talked to begin with."

"I just don't know what it was about you, but when you came around the world suddenly made sense to Emil, and he just decided not to be a bad seed anymore. It made  _me_  look crazy."

"Well I never told you this Lukas but, as a child I felt like I had a say in your love life." Emil said. "So, when you finally brought someone that I actually liked, and that you actually liked, I just thought, 'maybe I should be good for once so he can stay around.' Obviously, it worked."

Lukas blinked. "Emil, that was...oddly considerate of you. I can't believe you never told me that." He said to him.

Emil shrugged. "You're welcome."


	25. Chapter 25

"Do you have everything?" Lukas asked leaning down to Emil's window.

Emil nodded. "Yeah, we've got everything."

"Well okay, be safe getting back to school."

"Okay, we'll be safe."

Lukas waved at Lili. "It was nice getting to know you Lili, I hope to see you again over a school break, or in the summer."

Lili nodded as well. "I'll definitely be back to visit with Emil, Lukas." She said with a grin and then leaned out of the car to wave at Mathias on the porch. "Bye Mathias! It was nice meeting you!"

"Bye Lili! See you soon!" He called with a wave.

"Alright, I don't want you back too late. The sun is already starting to set, so get going. I'll see you for Christmas." And with that, Lukas went back up to the porch and watched as Emil and Lili left back for University.

* * *

Lili pushed her door open, sighing happily when she entered her dorm room. Nice to be back, not too nice to know that her roommate was still gone.

"Sophie's not back yet?" Emil asked as he came into the room behind Lili.

She shook her head. "I guess not. She hadn't called or text me all weekend. She even stopped sharing her location with me? I have no idea what she's been up to this weekend, but I'm excited for details."

"I'm sure that whatever her weekend entailed, it wasn't as fun as ours." Emil spoke as he went to sit on Lili's bed.

Lili climbed in bed as well. "Well, I'll wait up for her, it shouldn't be long until she comes back I'm sure." She looked at her phone for the time, half past nine.

Half past nine had turned into half past eleven.

Emil had passed out on Lili's bed about an hour ago, and Lili had been up doing assignments to finish catching up on her missed classes. She looked down at Emil, seeing him sleep so peacefully. She pushed some of his hair away from his face, and he turned over slightly. She smiled some. How could he be such a distraction sleeping? How could he be so  _cute_  sleeping? She was sure that he was looking at him at least every five minutes.

Their weekend they had together was enjoyable overall, and looked forward to doing it again another time. It also made Lili think about them as a couple. She looked down at the ring Emil gave her. She was so glad that she made more time for him, he was so worth it. They had been spending a lot of time together, and she was happy for that, and never wanted it to change. Homecoming was coming up, they'd have their due money soon, so she'd really have more free time to distribute.

When she turned in her last assignment, she sighed triumphantly. All done, she had finally caught up with her classes. Before she closed her laptop, she checked her email, finding an email from Camille. It stated that there would be a meeting tomorrow. Lili closed her laptop, putting it on her desk. Finally all caught up with classes. It was a lot to do, but it was definitely done. She rubbed at her eyes, it was getting late, and she was wondering where her roommate was. She sunk down in the bed, cuddling up against Emil...her eyes slowly started to close.

Then the door came open, and Sophia pulled her suitcase in the room, finding Emil and Lili in the bed. She grinned and climbed into bed with them, and Lili looked up finding her roommate looking down at her.

Lili looked at her strangely. "Why are you so tan? Where have you been? Why did you stop sharing your location with me?"

"Sophia would you please get off of me?" Emil mumbled in his sleep.

"Sorry," She said rolling off of him and sitting against the wall in the bed. "I went to Italy for the weekend with Sebastian."

Lili's eyes widened. "You  _what_?"

"I went to Italy with Sebastian for the weekend."

"I take back what I said, Sophie definitely had a better weekend than us." Emil said rolling over and sitting up. "So Italy huh?"

She nodded. "Yep, when you guys left, he told me that he was taking me to the airport to get on the jet to Italy. He had sex with me on the jet until I fell asleep, I woke up in Italy the next morning, I ate good Italian food, I met his brothers, I saw all this beautiful art at all their art museums, I went sightseeing, I went to the beach, we had our photoshoot we had been planning on doing, I had sex with him in his room, on the balcony in his room, we went swimming in his pool, and guess was the last thing he did with me before we left?"

"What?"

"He took me to a paint-and-sip class." She said and held a hand to her chest closing her eyes. "I think I'm in love mate."

Lili grinned, listening to all the things Sophia did while she was in Italy for a weekend. "Did you even sleep in Italy?" She said giggling some. "I'm glad you had so much fun and enjoyed your weekend with your boyfriend. And to think that you didn't even want to go at first."

"You would have been missing out." Emil added.

Lili nodded. "But you didn't, and you deserved a nice weekend with your boyfriend and you got just that."

"What did you two do this weekend?" Sophia asked curiously.

"I lost my virginity drunk."

Sophia gasped. "You lost your virginity  _drunk_? Lili, this tops my weekend in Italy, now I've got to hear all about this!"

* * *

Lili and Sophia took their seats at the meeting. Sophia rubbed her eyes and sat back in her chair.

Lili looked over at her. "You okay?"

Sophia looked over at her, nodding. "I'm fine…" She spoke and started to stretch and yawn, "just tired." She yawned out. "I slept a lot last night, but I was still tired going to class today. Then we have this meeting late afternoon today. Ugh, I just hope it goes fast so I can take a nap."

The German patted her arm, smiling at her. "You've had a really busy weekend. Going to Italy for the weekend? That's a lot for anyone I think. You're jet lagged still I'm sure, but at least you got through all your Monday classes, and now your schedule is as clear as day after this, take the longest nap you want today."

Sophia smiled. "Thanks mate, I'll probably take a nap in Sebastian's bed today. He still has his evening classes to go to, so I'll spend some uninterrupted time in his room asleep."

Lili giggled. "You deserve it." She said.

Camille walked up to the podium. "Good afternoon ladies, glad to see you all. New month, another chapter meeting. We don't have much to talk about but much to do today. Being passed around to you today are size slips. This is what you'll fill out today and bring back when dues are due to receive your KM apparel. For those who do not know, due day is also the day you get all of your KM stuff. T-Shirts, water bottles, jackets, scarfs, hats, and a lot more. Stuff we have a limit on such as jewelry, sweaters, handbags, and varsity jackets will be sold. It's also incredibly organized, so make sure you fill out your slips  _before_  you bring your dues."

Sophia grinned looking over at Lili. "KM apparel, finally. I can't wait to get it. KM's apparel stuff is so cute." She ranted.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be nice." Lili said. She hadn't been all that excited over the apparel stuff, she barely even wore the KM stuff she had. It was cute, but it wasn't really something she'd wear everyday.

"And also as you all know, this day marks the beginning of the homecoming season at West U. I have chosen to run for homecoming queen this year, and I would really love and appreciate you all if you helped me campaign and back me as well. Whoever is up for helping, we'll have brainstorming ideas for activities we can do to win over votes, come up with slogans and platforms for the campaign."

"Camille is running for homecoming queen? Good for her, she's been working really hard this year, and she's been to a lot, if not in every event that KM has had this year. She deserves homecoming queen." Sophia said.

"So remember everyone, dues due in a couple of weeks, have your size slips filled out, and for those who are staying to help for the campaign, we're meeting in the dining room. Meeting adjourned, and remember, God Bless Kappa Mu."

Sophia stood from her seat. "Are you doing anything after this? We should stay to help with the campaign."

"I thought you were going to go take a nap in Sebastian's bed. Aren't you still tired?" Lili asked.

"Not after this. I could do some drawings for her, and maybe come up with a style for her campaign."

"That sounds like something of your speed come to think of it. Have fun doing it. I want to see some of the things you draw." She said gathering her things.

Sophia looked at her strangely. "You're not going to campaign with me?"

Lili looked back at her. "No, I was going to get something to eat with Emil."

"But, we always do stuff like this together Lili. Why change it now?"

"I'm not changing anything, nothing's changing. I'm just thinking about my priorities."

"Lili we've been doing this since we've got into KM. We do something together, and go eat with Emil afterwards. Spending time with your best friend isn't important to you now? Now you'd rather not spend time with me and just go and eat with Emil without me? We're all friends Lili."

"I never said spending time with you wasn't important. I've just been thinking...I'm tired of picking KM over Emil. I'm tired of picking KM over everything in general. Being away with just him this weekend made me realize that I'm going to have a lot of free time after dues are paid. I want to enjoy my first college homecoming with Emil without having to worry about a KM event you signed us up to do. Why would I do this campaign stuff because  _you_  want to do it?  _I_  don't want to do it."

"I can't believe you're flaking out on me. We've got a lot more to do in KM and you're giving up on me? Lili, this is something we wanted to do together!" Sophia yelled at her.

"No, this is something  _you_  wanted to do together!" Lili yelled back. "I do stuff with you all the time! I've been doing stuff with you since we've got here! Now that I don't want to do something that you want to do it's a problem?! You're not the boss of me, you're not even older than me! Grow up!"

"Well screw you!" Sophia screamed. "I don't need you! I can do this on my own, and everything else from here on out if it was such a problem! Go eat with your stupid boyfriend, and study for your stupid tests!"

Lili balled up her fists. "I will! And you can go play kiss up all you want to someone who doesn't even know you exist!" She spat.

Sophia instantly shoved her, and Lili fell back on the floor with a yelp. She gasped at her actions, covering her mouth. What had came over her? Why did she just do that to her roommate, her best friend? She went over to her. "Lili?" She asked crouching over her to help her up.

Lili sat up, holding the arm she fell on. She rubbed it a few times before looking at Sophia and then standing on her own. "We're not friends anymore, jerk." She said and then turned to leave out the basement and out the house.


	26. Chapter 26

Emil sat in bed across from Lili as she continued to eat the pint of ice cream he had got for her. "So that's it? You're just not friends anymore?"

"Yep." She spoke spooning out more ice cream.

He raised an eyebrow. "So after going through rush week, and bid day, and NME, and entrance exams, and initiation, and getting drunk, and selling moonshine to pay for dues, and Eye Candy together, it's all over just that easily?"

"Yes, now will you please stop talking about it?" She asked looking up at him. "I know how it sounds, and I don't care. I'm not fixing this and I don't plan to. If she wants to be completely ungrateful to the fact that I've been there for her the entire time, then she can go ahead. I don't care."

Emil laid back on the bed. "Well okay, whatever you say Lil. But I just want you to know that you're both idiots."

She frowned at her boyfriend. Lili leaned over him, looking down at him. "Not fixing it." She declared before eating more of her ice cream.

* * *

"It's like she doesn't even understand me, like she doesn't even care." Sophia said as she continued to draw in Sebastian's bed.

Sebastian continued to edit the photos from his most recent photo shoot at his desk on his computer. "Yeah, sounds terrible. How dare that Lili put herself first for once and decline something she doesn't want to do with you?"

"Exactly! Like when have we ever not done anything together? We do everything together! We probably even breathe at the same time."

"And she's making it come off like you're two separate people. Like you have your own lives and interests. How could she even consider you two being different?"

"I know! All I want to do is spend time with her. That's all I want, that's all I ever want. She's my best friend Sebastian. Where did this come from all of a sudden?"

"Yeah it's almost like she's had a realization that she's her own person, and that she can do things without you and be just fine as friends still, or at least that's what she thought?" He spoke and looked back at her. "Well that's her loss, she can continue to grow and experience things all she wants without you, and you'll be here, wondering who else you can cling to to replace her."

"Mhmm, I'll do just that." She spoke as she finished up her sketch of a little penguin moving across a polar ice cap.

Sebastian looked at her for a moment longer before shaking his head. "I don't know why I like you so much." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Sophia and Lili tried to stay out of each other's way as best as possible during the week, but neither stayed in the dorm. They both thought the other was sleeping in the dorm, thus in determination of not wanting to see the other, each stayed with their significant other. Emil had sat in between the two during class now, and they stopped eating together.

Lili came out of the room, locking the door behind her to meet Emil at the library for a study date. And at the same time, Elizabeta had came out with a clipboard and pink slips attached to it. "Good afternoon Lili, haven't seen you in a while."

Lili looked back. "Hey LIzzie, good to see you too."

Elizabeta frowned. "You usually smile at me when you say hi. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just have a lot on my mind. Tests and things. That's all." Well, that wasn't a full lie.

"Well don't let it get you down too much, you're a smart girl, I believe you can push through anything." She said with a smile.

"Thank you, I'll stop by to talk to you if I need to."

"Of course, my door is always open."

Lili nodded and glanced at her door, seeing a piece of paper with words on it. Something was going on Wednesday, which was today. She'd come back later and see what the paper said after her study date. "I'll see you later Lizzie." She said and headed out to the stairs.

"Bye Lili. I hope your room is clean!" She called after her and went down to the first door on the hall, knocking on the door and coming in. "Room inspections." She called walking in.

.

.

.

Emil sat down at a table with two energy drinks. "I picked these up at the market. Figured we need one since it's the late afternoon now. Crash time."

Lili pulled out her laptop, calculator, and books. "I'm usually in the bed now, taking my afternoon nap."

"Exactly, while I just got out of class. You don't like late classes?"

She shook her head. "The earlier I get up, the faster I can get through with the day. Why start the day at 10 and finish at 4 when you can start at 8 and be done by 2? Sleeping in is for the weekends."

"Huh, didn't think of it like that. So that's why you're such a sleepy girl."

Lili rolled her eyes and stood up, going to the dry erase board in their study room. She took a marker and drew a T chart, one side with 'Lil' and the other side 'Emi'. "Ok, so what does Emi have to work on and study for today?" She asked.

Emil shuffled through the things he brought with him. "Emi has a paper to start for English, an assessment to do for statistics, I have to read three chapters for history, and I have to do my post and pre-quiz for Sociology."

"Emi's got a full plate." She giggled as she wrote down all the things he had to do on his side of the chart. Then, she moved over to her side. "Okay, so Lil has to do her take home quiz for algebra, study for my biology test, and the pre and post quiz for Sociology." She said as she wrote her things on her side. "Hm, all that weekend studying really helped. I thought I had more than this." She said and went to sit down. She popped open her energy drink and grabbed her calculator.

"You have your room inspection in McCall yet? I just had mine yesterday." Emil spoke as he tapped away on his laptop.

Lili looked up slowly, and her eyes widened. "Oh shit." She whispered before getting up and running back to McCall.

…

Lili pulled the door open to her hall and ran down to Elizabeta's door. She read the yellow paper.

_Room Inspections this Wednesday! Be prepared and take out your trash! ❤_

_\- Lizzie_

She went to her door, finding it already unlocked. She bit her lip and pushed it open. She walked inside, finding Elizabeta looking around at all of the things in the bathroom. The still, the burner, the two fermenting gallons of alcohol, and mason jars sitting around the room.

Lili calmly put her hands up, walking towards her RA. "Lizzie, I know it looks bad. But, I can explain."

"This is like, an entire brewery. You're making alcohol Lili. Do you realize you can go to jail for this stuff in here? Lili this isn't okay!" She yelled.

"I know Lizzie, I know. But you said it yourself, you pay for dues any way you can. My roommate is the one that knows about all this stuff, I just handle the money. This was our last week distilling, we're only 250 short of dues and selling out this weekend would cover that. We were selling the stuff back after we were done with it, just please, don't take this to upper housing."

Elizabeta sighed shaking her head. "Why couldn't you just had been a pothead and just had a bong sitting around somewhere? I wouldn't have cared about that." She muttered. "You're lucky you're such a good kid Lili." She spoke and gave a look around the bathroom one more time before looking at her. "I'm giving you a mulligan. I've got four more rooms to check after yours, so in four room checks I want this out of my sight, alright? I never saw it."

"Yes of course, I'll get it put up right away." She said nodding.

Elizabeta nodded back. "Alright, I'll be back." She said and left the room.

Instantly Lili went to cleaning the bathroom up. She put away the still and burner, slid the water jugs behind the curtain and closed it, and stashed all the mason jars in the linen closet. Elizabeta knocked on the door no more than five minutes later. Lili went over and pulled the door open.

"Hey, here for room inspection." She told her with a smile.

Lili smiled as well. "Come on in." She said and moved to the side so she could come in.

Elizabeta walked in, checking off things from her checklist. "Nice clean room, trash is taken out. The curtains in the bathroom under the vanity is a nice touch. The cupcakes are cute. Good job, you passed." She said signed off the list before giving it to Lili.

Lili took the paper, smiling and walked Elizabeta to the door. "Hey Elizabeta." Lili called to her.

Elizabeta looked back at her.

"Thanks. You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you did." Lili spoke quietly.

Elizabeta smiled, and wrapped her arms around her. "You're such a good kid Lili, you didn't deserved to be stopped getting caught with that. I have so much faith in you it's crazy. Just, make my belief worth it, alright? Show me that you're worth believing in. Be great in ways people least expect." She told her, and pulled away from her to look at her. "And for what it's worth, I wish you were a Zeta all the time, I would have loved you as my little."

Lili looked up at her, eyes welling with tears. But instead of crying, she looked away, rubbing her eyes. "Thanks Lizzie, that means a lot coming from you. Like a lot a lot." She said laughing some. "I'm going to make you proud, big or not, sister or not, you're worth making proud." She sniffled. "I'll show you that you can be proud of me." She said before looking away and shaking her head again with a small smile. "It's like I'm talking to my cousin right now, it's a weird feeling, but nice."

"Well I'm glad I could fill the big cousin role in your time of need. I have to go turn these papers in and get to my chapter meeting, my girls think I could be homecoming queen, so they've been telling me that they'd back me if I ran." She said with a small laugh.

Lili's eyes widened. "But you can, Lizzie. Camille's running too, and honestly I think you can win against her if you really work for it."

Elizabeta stretched some. "Yeah, well that's not really my cup of tea. Camille is prissy enough to win, plus she's a suck up. Parading around for votes, making promises, and kissing babies is more of her style, not mine. It's still surprising to me that I'm even in a sorority."

"Lizzie, you believe in me, so I'm going to believe in you. 'Be great in ways people least expect.' You  _just_  said that."

"Well I say stuff like that all the time, I'm in a public speaking class, it's not really—"

"Snatching the crown from her would be the ultimate revenge."

Elizabeta thought for a second. "Hm, I'm not past revenge. I like the sound of that. Me winning? I'd love to see the look on her face when they announce  _me_  the winner." She said laughing. "Alright it's worth it. I'll run."

Lili grinned. "Can't wait to see you with a crown come the homecoming game." She said.

"Me either. I bet I look great in a crown, can't wait to find out. But I really have to go, I have to drop these slips off to the housing office before I go to my meeting. Finish up your little business and get rid of it. Got it?"

"Of course, we'll get rid of it." She said.

"Alright, I'll see you later." With that she patted her shoulder before leaving her in the hall by herself.

* * *

Sophia sat at one of the tables in the lounge of the Kappa Mu house drawing up some sketches for Camille's campaign. She added detailed flowers and little branches around the words, 'Camille for Homecoming Queen.' She shrugged looking at it, it would look nice as buttons to give out.

"That looks really good."

Sophia jumped and turned around, finding the person standing over her shoulder to be none other than Camille.

Camille smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Sophia, right? You were in Eye Candy, and you sold all those landscapes at the art auction."

"Yep, that's me." She said nodding.

" I was just looking at you draw, and it's really beautiful." She said taking a seat next to her.

"I'm glad you like it, I was hoping that you could use it to put on buttons to pass out to people."

Camille shrugged. "I was thinking more like the official announcement sheet to hang up on the quad."

Sophia blinked. "You want  _this_  to go up as an announcement sheet?"

"Why not? It's got a lot of flowers on it. It can be for KM. You can sign it yourself at the bottom for credit. I wouldn't want anyone to take credit for your artwork of course."

Sophia had felt incredibly honored. "I'd love to do the sheet announcement for Kappa Mu, I've never painted on a sheet before actually." She said with a laugh.

"You've got something to do in this campaign, official artwork. Come up with some ideas for another sheet announcement, you can be in charge of getting together the sidewalk chalk art, come up with some ideas for fliers, and maybe a couple of other things."

Was this a dream? Was this real? Was she going to wake up any time soon? "You're seriously letting me take over official artwork?"

"I really like your work Sophia, even at the art auction. But, I don't know, I used to draw and stuff, and I kind of see myself in you. I think it's deserving." She said and stood up. "We're picking up the sheet tomorrow, come after your classes tomorrow to paint it."

"Definitely, I'll be here." She said nodding quickly.

"Great, see you tomorrow." Camille said with a smile and left out the room.

"Yes!" Sophia cheered for herself as she pumped a fist in the air. This was great. Official artwork for the campaign. She didn't think that it was an official name or job for a person in a campaign, but she didn't care, she was the one that got the job. Wait until she told Sebastian, and Lili and Emil. She frowned at the thought. Lili, no not her. She'd definitely text Emil though, he still liked her, and they were still friends. She can't keep Emil to herself. Sophia quickly gathered her things and headed back to the room, hoping Lili wouldn't be there.

.

.

.

"We got a lot of work done Emi, the good grades are going to start coming in soon." Lili spoke as she walked back to McCall with him.

"Yep, won't be long now before we make it to the Dean's List." He spoke putting his hands in his pocket.

"You know, I don't think I would have been able to do this if I had chose to do the campaign with Sophia. I got to have a study date with you, I feel like my time is starting to free up. Less time doing Greek Life stuff means more time for you, and we both know how you enjoy your time with me. We'll have more time to do things together like dates, and study dates, and eating together."

Emil pulled out his phone, and read the notification text he got from Sophia. "Yeah I'm excited too." He said and put his phone away. "By the way, Sophia just text me that Camille told her that she's doing the artwork for her campaign."

Lili smiled. "She is? That's great!" She exclaimed before looking away and waving her hand. "Not that I care or anything." She muttered.

He shook his head as he opened the door for her into McCall. "Yeah, way to show that you don't care Lil."

"I don't. I really don't care." She said. "Wait down here, I'm going to get some clothes for tonight, and I don't know if  _she's_  up there." She said to him before glancing at the desk and smiling. "Hi Lizzie." She said.

Elizabeta looked up from her phone, finding Lili and Emil standing near the desk. "Oh hey Lili, and Emil right?" She asked before waving. "Nice to see you guys this evening."

"Nice to see you too." Emil spoke as he took out his phone and rested against the desk to wait on Lili. He hoped she didn't take long, he was kind of hungry. He looked up when he saw another person walk into the lobby, blonde girl with green eyes.

"Bella, hey, what are you doing here?" Elizabeta asked putting her phone down.

Bella smiled at her. "I need a favor."

Elizabeta narrowed her eyes. "What kind of favor?"

"A favor that involves you covering my shifts at the Greek Life office for the next couple of weeks."

Elizabeta scoffed. "Bel I don't know what to do at the Greek Life office. And plus I'm an RA, who's going to cover my shifts at the desk?"

"Oh they'll just plug in a Front Desk Worker, it's not a big deal. And you know I'm moving apartments it's going to take some time to get everything over there while I'm already in class. With class and work I'll never get anything done. Think about it, you'll get paid for my shifts, all you have to do is log money and answer the phone, I'll give you my log ins to my computer,  _and_  you get to play Solitaire on the computer for when you're bored."

Her lips pursed together in thought. "Alright, alright. When do I start?"

Bella squealed. "Next Friday, so if you actually want to find someone to cover your RA shifts instead of Front Desk, you can. Come over to the Greek Life office and I'll show you everything you have to do before I leave."

"Yeah sure. I'll see you then."

Bella offered her her index finger. "One heart?"

Elizabeta pressed her index finger against hers. "Many souls."

With a smile, Bella left out the lobby, and Lili soon came down stairs with a duffle in her hand. "Alright, ready to go." She said offering her hand.

Emil pocketed his phone, and took her hand. "Come on, I'm starving." He said and started his way out with her.


	27. Chapter 27

For the rest of the week Lili and Sophia continued to ignore each other, only meeting up with one another for Friday's alcohol delivery. Emil had went to get his car so he could park in front of McCall, which left Lili and Sophia to pack up the jars in the cooler.

"Well, at least this is something we have no choice to do together." Sophia said as she packed up the jars.

"Well it's our last delivery. We'll have our due money after tonight, so I guess this isn't something we'll be doing together anymore either." Lili spoke.

Sophia frowned. "Great, can't wait to stop making alcohol with you." She said before sighing. "At least we've got it all done. After what, 3-4 weeks of production? Not bad."

"It would have been a lot longer if you hadn't got the extra 300 dollars from your paintings." Lili said looking up at her.

"Right, I forgot about that. I put a lot into this, I'm glad I worked hard in getting this for us."

Lili scoffed, looking away from her. "Sure, like I didn't do anything productive towards this at all."

"I never said you didn't. I'm just saying, I made the alcohol, none of this would have been possible if I didn't know how to make it."

"And thanks to  _me_ , we still have a place to say for the rest of the semester."

Sophia looked up at her. "What are you on about?"

"You forgot to put everything up from the last delivery,  _Dummkopf_. Lizzie found everything out during a room inspection, but luckily she likes me more than you, so she gave me a chance to put everything away for a proper room inspection. I wasn't going to tell you, but you being pompous jerk made the truth come out."

"Well it's a good thing you sucked up to her enough for her to like you...Obviously you didn't suck up enough cause you're not a Zeta, but who's complaining?"

"And yet as a Kappa Camille liked me more than you. Never patted you on the back and consoled you when your boyfriend was being a blockhead, hmm?"

"She never had to console me because I'm not a sensitive little crybaby."

"I'd rather be that then an obsessive clingy weirdo."

"Zeta wannabe."

"Kappa kiss up."

Sophia grimaced and slammed down the cooler top once all the jars were in. She stood and grabbed the cooler and taking it downstairs with Lili following behind her. Lili climbed in the front seat while Sophia sat in the back seat with the cooler.

"Let's just get this over with." Lili muttered putting on her seat belt.

"Yeah let's get this over with so I can be away from you faster." Sophia said from the back seat.

Lili shook her head and grabbed her phone. "I text you about a couple people wanting to buy a some jars from us."

"Sorry didn't get it. I blocked you."

"Well fine I guess that's just business loss."

"That's fine with me."

"And that's fine with me too."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I will flip this fucking car over, kill us all, and end this misery."

Lili looked at her boyfriend surprisingly. "Emi—"

"Don't 'Emi' me, we're going to be in the car together for an hour and a half at the least. If it's annoying two minutes in, then it's going to be annoying an hour from now if it keeps going. You two were best friends at one point, and I get that friends feud. If you're not friends now,  _stop talking to each other._  You're both going to say something you're going to regret saying, when in reality, you're meant to be friends at the end of the story anyways. So either make up right now, or keep your mouths shut, because if I have to hear  _this_  for an hour and a half, so help me God I will put you  _both_  through a fucking wall."

Sophia winced. "Jesus Christ Emil, you almost made me want to make up with Lili right now."

"Is it bad that I'm slightly turned on?" Lili asked herself.

.

.

.

Sophia counted up the money before nodding. "280. This is the last of our due money." She said.

Lili nodded as well. "We did it. 1,400 dollars just like that." She said as she took the money from her. "We'll split it up before dues are due. I'll take it back to the room."

"Okay, that's fine." Sophia said and held out her hand. "It wasn't a pleasure making alcohol with you."

Lili shook her hand. "Terrible doing business with you."

Then they separated and looked at each other. A moment later they were in a tight embrace. "We did it Lili. We paid our dues." Sophia said quietly.

Lili smiled. She felt like she could cry. "Yeah, I've never felt more accomplished." She said back.

Then Sophia pulled away from her, dusting herself off. "But we're still not friends. This didn't mean anything."

Lili nodded clearing her throat. "Yes still not friends."

* * *

The next morning, Lili and Emil walked to the dining hall for breakfast. Lili stopped when she saw Camille's sheet announcement.

_Kappa Mu Supports_

_Camille Grimaldi_

_For Homecoming Queen_

Lili watched as the painted sheet flowed in the wind, the sheet being held down by ropes, the ropes tied to trees. The announcement was certainly beautiful, she liked the flowers and branches surrounding it. She suppressed her smile when she saw the initials 'SJ' in the lower right hand corner of the sheet.

"She did so good on this." She said quietly before turning to continue walking. "Not that I care or anything." She said.

Emil sighed as he continued to walk with her. "You don't have to stay mad at her Lili, you can apologize any day now."

"I'm not the one who needs to apologize, it's her that needs to apologize."

"Lil, you're both in the wrong and you know it."

Lili blew a raspberry at him.

"And you're doing that because I'm right."

She blew another one at him.

"Now you're just being childish."

Lili grabbed the door of the dining hall, and pulled it open. Then she looked back at Emil, and blew another raspberry at him.

Emil rolled his eyes and followed Lili into a table after he swiped in.

Lili sat down at a booth with him, and looked around. She hadn't known what she wanted for breakfast. Maybe pancakes? Those sounded good, along with some fresh fruit. Even better. She looked around one more time before pausing, seeing a rather strange sight only a couple tables away from her.

"What is Camille doing here with Sophie for breakfast?" She asked herself.

Emil started to look back, but Lili quickly grabbed his head and turned him back around.

"Don't you know how to be sneaky?" She whispered harshly.

Sighing, Emil started to stretch, using that as an excuse to look back at the table they were sitting at. Then Emil quickly turned back around gasping. "Oh my God." He said urgently.

"What? What is it?" She asked just as excitedly.

"I don't care."

Lili frowned shoving him slightly. "You're so annoying."

"I'm sorry Lil, but the Greek gossip has always been a you and Sophie thing."

She sighed. "I know, it's just not the same. But, I'm just curious about this whole thing. When were they ever this close?"

.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Lili not being friends anymore, I know you two were really close, you really did do everything together." Camille said picking up her coffee cup.

Sophia poked at her eggs with a fork. "I know, but people grow out of people, maybe that's just what's happening between us."

"Maybe. But, it's okay. You just, wish her the best and move on. Believe me, I know from experience. It's hard not being friends with someone you were once best friends with. You miss the laughs, and the crazy pictures and videos with them, and all the memories, but if it's for the best, then it's for the best."

"I know, but I just, ugh, I wish it didn't have to end so quickly. She really was my best friend, I had never been that close to someone before."

Camille put a hand on top of hers. "Well, if it helps any, I'll be your friend Sophie."

Sophia looked up at her, smiling. "Thanks Camille." She said and picked up her orange juice. "You know, coming to breakfast with you has been nice, thank you for inviting me."

"No problem. I enjoy your company." She said before smiling at her. "You know I'm pretty fun to hang out with. We can talk about boys, and paint each others nails, and we can draw. Oh my goodness we could draw so much. I haven't done it in so long, I forgot how nice it felt to do it. Would you want to draw with me Sophie?" She asked.

Sophia nodded. "Of course, I'd love to draw with you Camille. We can draw until your heart's content."

"Yes!" She said pumping a fist in the air.

.

Lili watched from afar, watching them talk and giggle about something. She shook her head as she stabbed a pineapple slice with her fork. "I guess it's not that important. As long as she's happy I guess."

"That was a positive thing to say about Sophia." Emil spoke with a nod.

Lili scoffed. "It's not like I actually care about her happiness." She said poking at her fruit. "I mean, who cares that she's doing the thing she loves for the sorority she loves the most. Pfft, not me." She muttered as she continued poking at her fruit. She rubbed at her eyes.

Emil frowned. "You're not going to cry are you?"

"No." She said defensively as she brushed her tears away. Lili placed the half eaten bowl of fruit on the now empty and syrup drizzled plate. "Let's just go, coming here was a dumb idea." She said and stood, grabbing her dishes to dispose of them.


	28. Chapter 28

"Alright ladies, have your size slips and due money out please. Your money will cover five t-shirts, three jackets, and five non-apparel items of your choosing. Your items will also be placed in a complimentary tote bag of your choosing as well. The pajamas sets, cashmere sweaters, jewelry, lettermen jackets, backpacks, duffle bags, blankets, and bottoms will be for purchase only." Lisa Washington spoke to the waiting line of girls.

Due money was due today, and it was KM apparel day. A long table went from wall to wall. Water bottles, jewelry, car decals, buttons, magnets, and other various items took over the tables; while items such as jackets, crew necks, sleepwear, blankets, and stitch letter t-shirts hung up on the walls and were modeled on mannequins. Even if they're colors were black and white, it was a lot of pinks, navy blue, gold, and baby blue colored things that she liked too. Chevron, ikat, quatrefoil, paisley, and floral patterns took over the stitch letter t-shirts.

Lili had to admit, this stuff was really cute, and she couldn't wait to try some of this stuff on. She wasn't really sure what to get though. When it was her turn in the line, she gave girl over the dues a total of seven hundred dollars, and she received over sixty dollars in change. She had more money in her wallet as well, maybe she'd get one of the cashmere sweaters, or if they were cute enough, a varsity jacket. She looked ahead of her, seeing Sophia picking out her things with a big smile on her face. She would bet that Sophia would pick out some cute stuff. If they were still friends, maybe they could have swapped clothes every now and again, but since they weren't it didn't seem like that would be happening.

Lili went down the table, picking out the things she got free with her dues. She ended up with a raincoat and two fleece jackets. That would be nice since it was finally starting to get chilly on campus. For her non-apparel items she ended up choosing a keychain, water bottle, a hat, and a couple of buttons for her bookbag. Camille gathered her things up at the end of the table and Lili looked at her choices of tote bags: black, white, or pink. She figured she had enough pink stuff, and settled for the black tote bag, since white could get dirty too easily. Well that was everything she got for free, she'd come back around for her purchases once the line went down some. She looked around, it was crazy how many girls were left. From bid day to dues, she would have guessed over half of the girls she once saw weren't there anymore.

She went to go take a seat and looked at the items in her bag, smiling some. She thought she did a great job picking things out. She pulled out her hat and put it on. Then she pulled her phone out and looked at herself in it with her camera. Definitely cute in it. She snapped a picture of herself and sent it to Emil. ' _Like my new hat?_


	29. Chapter 29

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to go.”

Lili looked over at Emil, who was dressed to go to Camille’s cookout, and threw the covers off of her body.

“No, we should go. I’m still in KM, the least I could do is support Camille and see some of my girls. Sophia wasn’t the only one I was friends with after all.” She sat up in the bed, and then flopped back down. “Emi, I need some encouragement to get out of bed and get ready.” She spoke looking up at the ceiling.

“Coming right up Sweets.” Emil spoke as he climbed on top of her, and started to kiss down her neck gently.

She tilted her head back some. “This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” She started, but Emil took her hand, pinning it down to the bed, and started to suck and nip at her neck. She closed her eyes at the pleasure. “But I guess this way will suffice.” She breathed.

Emil pulled away from her. “We can talk about what you had in mind once I’m done bending you over.”

“Sounds fair.”

* * *

The outside of the Kappa Mu house had been swarmed by students. From the front yard, to the side door patios, to the backyard. People had definitely heard word about this event, and from the looks of it, the whole school had planned on coming. But then again, who wouldn’t want to be here? Good grilled food, corn hole, spikeball, ladder ball, beer pong, students lying out in hammocks, others tossing around frisbee disks, face painting stations, cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones, and good music. This was the college fun everyone looked forward to having.

Lili and Emil walked around, talking to some of their classmates. Lili had introduced some of her sisters to Emil, who they all gushed about how cute he was. Soon she found Camille over by the cotton candy stand, and she took Emil over to meet her.

“Hey Camille, this is a great cookout.” Lili said as she held her pinky out to her.

“Lili, I’m glad you guys made it, and I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” She said wrapping her pinkie around hers, and she glanced over at Emil. “Is this your blockhead boyfriend?” She asked with a giggle.

“He’s been considerably less of a blockhead recently. Camille, this is my boyfriend Emil. Emil, this is Camille, president of KM.”

“Nice to finally meet you.” She spoke holding a hand out to him.

“Nice to meet you too.” He spoke shaking her hand and nodding at her.

“Well I have to get back to mingling, so please enjoy the food, drinks, and games.” She said and smiled at them both before heading off.

“She seems nice.” Emil spoke as they walked off.

“She is really nice, but sometimes, there’s something about Camille that’s just so...manipulating. And I hate saying that because she’s my sister, but ever since the volleyball game I just haven’t seen her the same. She told me that Elizabeta has anger issues, and that I shouldn’t be around her that much, but Lizzie is one of the sweetest people I know. If anything, I don’t trust her around Sophia.” She told him.

“Ah, speak of the devil.” Emil spoke next, pointing at Sophia and Sebastian from afar.

Lili looked over, finding Sophia and Sebastian share a bag of popcorn. She took Emil’s hand and went over to the pair.

Sophia looked up at the two approaching, and waved at Emil. “Hey Emil good to see you.” She said smiling at him.

Emil smiled too. “Good to see you too Sophie.” He said and reached his hand out to Sebastian. “Good to see you as well Sebastian.”

Sebastian shook his hand. “Emil, always a pleasure.” He spoke with a nod and waved at Lili. “Lili, good to see you too.”

Lili grinned. “Good seeing you again too Sebastian. Taken any good pictures lately?”

“Of course. Taking some now, just in case I want to submit some for the school website. A good photographer never goes to an event empty handed.” He said pointing at his camera around his neck.

Lili nodded at his words, then turned to Sophia. “I uh, just wanted to come over and tell you how much of a good job you’re doing with the artwork for the campaign. The sheet announcements are really pretty, and the sidewalk chalk around camp is so colorful and creative. It’s got Sophia James written all over it.”

Sophia fought the urge to smile, and just narrowed her eyes at her. “What are you being so nice for?”

She shrugged. “I’m just coming to terms with our friendship ending is all. Just because we’re not friends anymore doesn’t mean I don’t know talented art.”

“Well, um, thank you.” She spoke nodding. “It means a lot coming from you, actually.”

“Yeah of course...And, just watch yourself around Camille. She can be pretty manipulative.” Lili spoke.

Sophia frowned. “I knew it couldn’t just be one thing. Now that I’m getting close to her she’s manipulative?” She shook her head. “Thanks for the warning, but no thanks.”

“Sophia I’m serious, she’s not who you think she is. Please just be careful around her.”

“Well if you’re not my friend then why are you telling me this?”

“Because you were once my friend. I still wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“And like I said before, thanks but no thanks.” With that she took Sebastian’s hand, and they went off.

Lili sighed, and looked over at Emil.

“You tried Lil. She’s just got to see for herself.”

“If something ends up happening to her I’ll never forgive myself Emil.”

“You can’t protect everyone Sweets, you know that. All you can do is just be there for them when they fall. That is, if they fall. Who knows? Maybe they will end up being good friends. Just be happy about her happiness.” He took her face into his hands. “Don’t worry about it. Worrying about it will ruin your homecoming, and you said you wanted to have a good first college homecoming.”

“You’re right.”

“Does Lil need a kiss?”

“Mhmm.”

Emil leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. “Better?”

“I’d feel even better if I kicked your butt in corn hole.”

Emil pulled away from her, laughing quietly. “Let’s see if you’ve got the bite to back up your bark.” He said and pulled her off to play a game of corn hole.

 


	30. Chapter 30

**Monday**

Lili went over to Elizabeta's room to drop off some of the posters she made for her. They were really nice and colorful, and she was sure that Elizabeta would like them. She'd probably make one or two more for her within the week if she had time, but with the ones already hanging up around campus, and the ones she just added, it should be enough. She went over to her door, and made her way out at the same time Sophia was stopping at their dorm.

Sophia looked at Lili strangely when she saw her coming out of Elizabeta's room. "What were you doing in Elizabeta's room?"

She looked up at her, not sure what to say. "I um, was just talking to her. That's all." She said. Lili then brushed passed her to head over to Chester to see Emil.

Sophia watched as she walked away, and looked over at Elizabeta's door. She looked at the location chart, seeing that 'in class' was checked off. She narrowed her eyes and pushed her door open, finding the posters Lili had made for Elizabeta.

"That lying little backstabber." She muttered and left the room.

* * *

Emil offered Lili a piece of funnel cake, and she turned away from it.

"So no funnel cake? You said you wanted a funnel cake when we got here, now you don't want it? Is something wrong?"

"I did a very bad thing Emi."

"What did you do this time?"

She winced some. "I um, did some posters for Lizzie's campaign, and I think Sophie knows now. She caught me coming out of her room, but I think she knew that I wasn't in there to see Lizzie. If she finds out, no doubt she'll tell Camille about it. I'll probably be kicked out of KM for sure."

"Well you never wanted to be in KM in the first place. Win-win."

"Okay first off, no one wants to be kicked out of anything Emil. It's embarrassing and causes a lot of gossip between people. And second, I'd like to stay in it now that I've paid  _700 dollars_  to stay in it."

Emil thought for a minute. "Well, Camille is nice so maybe you're just over thinking it. Maybe she'll let you off with a warning or a write up or something if she finds out. And if you get kicked out of Kappa Mu, then at least you get to keep the apparel."

"What you're saying isn't helping, but I appreciate the support like always. Thanks Emi." She said reaching over to pull off a piece of funnel cake.

.

.

.

"I can't believe her! How could she betray Kappa Mu by helping the enemy? It's treason!"

"Are you going to eat the rest of your snow cone?"

Sophia looked up at Sebastian, rolling her eyes and handed him the cup.

Sebastian smiled as he took the cup. "So treason, okay. Go on." He said as he spooned out the shaved ice.

"It's treason and Camille has to know about it. She deserves to be kicked out of KM."

"Hm, just got colder and darker over her from all this shade."

"What are you on about?"

"You telling Camille about Lili, your ex-best friend, about her helping someone she is very close with is wrong, petty, and shady on so many levels. You know she's close to Elizabeta, and so what if she didn't want to help with the KM campaign to help with ZNu's? She's not hurting anyone, she's just helping a friend. You don't have to make her life a living hell because she's not friends with you anymore Soph. She deserves some loyalty on your end."

Sophia put her hand under her chin, leaning against the table. "Alright, I won't tell on her, but it's still a betraying thing to do."

"I never said it wasn't, I'm just saying that you shouldn't tell on her." He said spooning out more snow cone.

Sophia looked at him for a moment. "I want my snow cone back."

* * *

**Tuesday**

"Please don't do this to me."

"It'll be fun, I swear. And if you're not up for it, then we can get on more rides."

Lili led Emil into the big top tent, and shuffled up a pair of metal stairs for seats in the stands. Strangely enough, she had convinced Emil to sit through a circus show while they were at Riverville. She always enjoyed the thrill of a good circus show, while Emil had never sat through a single show. But, he wanted to try it as long as they sat somewhere far enough away from the clowns. Lili took him up on the offer, and here they were, sitting almost at the top of the stands.

"Are you nervous?" Lili asked as she sat down next to him.

Emil released her hand, sitting down. "What makes you say that?" He asked.

Lili looked down at her wet sweaty hand that was produced from holding Emil's. "Ah, no reason." She said as she rubbed her hand on her pants. "You have nothing to worry about. We're far up, and they don't really bother people up here too much, that's what the floor seats are for."

He sunk down in his seat. "Okay, I'll take your word for it." He spoke as he tapped his fingers against his knees.

Lili watched him, and smiled weakly at him. "You're going to be fine Emi. They're not scary from up here." She said and pointed down at the three ring stage. "See, look. You're so far up from them, they look like ants from up here."

Emil sat up, looking down at the area. He watched as the colorfully dressed clowns went to different people, making balloon animals for them and pulling scarfs out of their sleeves. Looked innocent enough, but something about it was still mischievous that he didn't like. "It's not that bad from up here." He muttered.

She smiled at him. "See? Now, we've got a few minutes. I'm going to get some snacks from the concessions before the show starts." With that Lili stood, but Emil grabbed her hand.

"Please don't leave me." He spoke looking up at her.

Lili looked down at him. She could see the fear in his eyes. It was so strange seeing him like this. Fearless, nonchalant Emil, afraid of clowns. Her poor boyfriend. "I won't leave you." She spoke sitting back down. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Try to relax. The show will start in a minute, and but once it starts it'll all be okay."

With a nod, Emil rested his head on his hand, anxiously waiting for the show to start, while Lili scrolled around on her phone.

When the show started, the clowns were up first with their antics, telling jokes and doing little tricks to one another. Some clowns had went to the audience to tell jokes with them.

Emil scoffed. "Look at them, being so devious with their big painted smiles. Terrible."

Lili watched as another clown got cream pie to the face. She giggled. "It's meant to be funny Emil." She said between giggles.

"There's nothing funny about a pie to the face." He said as he watched another pair of clowns shake hands, and one of their hands fell off. Emil chuckled a little at that.

Lili looked over at him. "See? It's funny." She said nudging him.

Emil sat back in his seat. "Okay. Maybe a little." He admitted.

The rest of the show was absolutely superb to Emil.

He loved all the action and entertainment. Tight rope walking, a family of acrobats, a lion tamer? It was amazing, and he had never enjoyed such a show. Lili was happy he was enjoying the show. She made sure to keep an eye on him the whole show, watching as the look in his eyes went from fear to wonder, it was beautiful to her.

When the show let out, the two of them stood, and Lili looked at the time on her phone. "We've still got plenty of time to ride more rides." She said and took his hand. "Wasn't that a lovely show?"

Emil led them both down the stairs, back to the floor to leave. "It was amazing. Who knew they had all this at the circus? Best show I've ever been to. Granted, the only show I've ever sat through, but still, best show."

"I'm so glad you liked it. It wasn't that hard, and it was all worth it in the end." She told him.

"Yep, it was pretty worth it. The clowns were pretty good too. I don't even think I'm afraid of them anymore." He said.

Emil and Lili shuffled through the crowd, trying to head out of the big top. A clown reached out to them, putting a hand on Emil's shoulder. "Hey you kids enjoy the show?" He asked in a friendly voice.

Before Lili could say anything, Emil let out an ear piercing scream and ran off. She sighed shaking her head. "'I don't even think I'm afraid of them anymore.' Yeah right." Lili muttered.

* * *

**Wednesday**

The Knockerball tournament was surprisingly interesting to Sophia. Sebastian wasn't really paying attention to it, and instead played on his phone for the time being. People in giant balls knocking one another over was both funny and entertaining to her, she hadn't known what he didn't like about it.

Near the end of the game, Sophia saw Camille coming down from the stands to leave and Sophia called her name out. Camille looked back, smiling when she saw Sophia and Sebastian.

"Didn't think you'd be into knockerball." Sophia said offering her her pinky.

Camille shrugged. "Not really, but I go to every event for homecoming, and plus it's good for the campaign." She wrapped her finger around Sophia's.

"You're right. Publicity at it's finest." She said with a small laugh. "What are you doing now? Just heading home?"

"Yeah, go home relax, paint my nails." She spoke with a wave of a hand. "You want to come over? I could use some company."

"Oh actually I was going to spend the night with Sebastian." She said glancing over at him.

"Don't let me ruin your girls night. Just stay over tomorrow night after the pep rally. I've got to catch up on some editing for some photos anyways."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Have fun." He spoke and leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Sophia smiled, and leaned over to give him a quick peck on his lips. "I'll come over tonight then."

Camille grinned. "Great. Can't wait for our sleepover, see you tonight Sophie." With that she waved and headed off.

* * *

Elizabeta put a hand under her chin as she mindlessly watched the computer screen. She dragged and dropped cards in their rightful deck, almost done with this game. It would be her fourth solitaire game in a row. She glanced at the clock. 5:45, just 15 more minutes, and she could leave. Working in the Greek Life office wasn't that bad, but it wasn't for her. She missed working at the desk of McCall's lobby, seeing people pass by and talking to them. Not a lot of people came here unless they were dropping off money, or documents.

Lisa Washington pulled the door open and went up to the desk with a bag. She smiled politely at Elizabeta. "Hi, just dropping off money for KM." She said and handed Elizabeta the bag. "It should be a total $8,105.70."

She nodded, taking the bag and opening it. She pulled out the large wad of money with an envelope with change. She stood taking it over to the money counter. Elizabeta watched as the money flipped itself in the machine, counting itself. The amount $8,105 appeared across the screen, and she counted the change in the envelope. 70 cent definitely. She sat back down at the desk and pulled up the Kappa Mu account. "Alright, and what is this money for?"

"Dues and apparel."

Elizabeta checked the box, inserted the amount, and saved it. Then, she pulled out the receipt book. Elizabeta wrote a receipt to Lisa and signed it. She pulled it out, and gave it to her. "There you are." She spoke with a smile.

"Thank you, have a good night." Lisa took the receipt and left.

Elizabeta stood and took the money to the safe in the back, and came back to sit back at the desk. Kappa Mu's account was still pulled up. She looked at the account, and then her abandoned solitaire game. She closed out the game and hesitated. "Don't do it Lizzie. Roderich tells you all the time, you're probably just paranoid about Camille. There's nothing going on in Kappa Mu, she's just a good leader." She told herself with a nod and minimized the window.

A few moments later she pulled it back up. "Oh who am I kidding, I've been wanting to look at these files for ages." She told herself and started to scroll around on their account.

She looked at their finances, where she found a total of over eight million dollars in their account. Elizabeta winced at the amount. Zeta Nu barely had over a million dollars. It would be at least 4 million to renovate the house, which still didn't touch the 12 million it took to renovate Kappa Mu. She scrolled through the account activity, huge amounts of money added to the account from the past events they've done this year.

But something was off about it.

With the grand amount they made from their events, some was taken out shortly after every event.

_+7,480.00  
_ _Note: KM Art Auction_

_-2,000.00  
_ _Note: Donation to Arts and Hearts Children's Art School_

_\- 1,122.00  
_ _Note: C.G_

_+3,265.00  
_ _Note: Eye Candy Auction_

_\- 489.75  
_ _Note: C.G_

_+560.77  
_ _Note: Sweet Treats Ice Cream Parlor Fundraiser_

_\- 85.00  
_ _Note: C.G_

_-300.00  
_ _Note: Withdrawal made Tuesday, 9-17-17_

That was the same day as the volleyball game they 'lost.'

There were barely even any withdrawals for the charities they claim to work close with and give a donation to monthly. What were these small amounts about? Who was taking this money out? What were they taking this money out for?

She clicked on their roster. They had a total of 336 girls currently active in their chapter. She scrolled around, finding Lili's document specifically. She clicked on it, finding a picture of her, and all of her information.

_Name: Lili Elise Zwingli  
_ _D.O.B: 7-12-1999  
_ _Classification: Freshman  
_ _Major: Marine Biology  
_ _Original Bid: Zeta Nu, Iota Theta  
_ _Accepted Bid: Kappa Mu, Gamma Tau_

Elizabeta could feel her blood run cold. "They stole our bids." She whispered to herself. She couldn't believe it. Well, she could, but it was still surprising. She went and clicked on other girls, girls she knew they made bids on. All of them had an original bid on Zeta Nu, but their accepted bids said otherwise, Kappa Mu. She shook her head. "That bitch." She whispered to herself. Her hand balled up into fists. It had soon clicked with her that C.G had to be Camille. Camille Grimaldi, C.G, it had to be. She was stealing money from Kappa Mu, she stole bids, and this was probably just the surface of all she's done, but this was proof. Enough proof to take to the president of the university to put them under review. She quickly printed out the papers, and put them in a folder. She'd take this to the office first thing in the morning. Then she logged out of the computer, gathered her things and left.

She had her. She finally had Camille. After years of keeping her allegations under wraps, and being 'paranoid' Elizabeta had proof of just how much she's 'changed.' Well she won't seem so changed after this. As she walked to Roody hall, Elizabeta put the folder in her bookbag for safe keepings, tonight she was staying with Roderich, and contemplated telling him about her findings. But, she figured that she should keep it under wraps, she was going to the president tomorrow anyways. She could do this on her own, and she needed to.

* * *

Sophia knocked on the Kappa Mu door, and a few minutes later someone answered the door. She walked in thanking the girl, and she went upstairs to Camille's room.

Camille had been in her pajamas already when she answered the door. She pulled Sophia inside, and closed the door behind her. She looked around her room, the president's suite in the Kappa Mu house was lovely. A balcony that let outside, a master bathroom, big flat screen television. She shook her head. "I'll never get over how nice this room is." She said putting her bag on the bed.

"Me either, and I've been living in this room for over two years now." She said with a laugh. Camille grabbed a small basket full of nail polishes, and tossed the cotton balls and acetone on the bed. "Bring over anything good?" Camille asked her.

"Just my sketchbook." Sophia said with a shrug.

"That will do." She said and went to her dresser, opening up the top drawer. "And to spice up tonight's sleepover, I'm bringing out the goods." She said and pulled out a bottle of strawberry lemonade Svedka. "Run and go get a couple of lemonades from the vending machine in the lounge, I'll make us drinks."

.

.

.

"Oh no I messed up on my nail again." Camille whined.

"Have to take another shot." Sophia said as she continued to draw in her sketchbook.

She shook her head and poured a shot of the Svedka in a shot glass. She downed the shot and sighed quietly. It was no mystery that they were both drunk, but they were enjoying each other's company. Hanging out with Camille had always made Sophia miss Lili a lot less. She was so close to her and she was glad that she had gotten so close to Camille. They had so much in common.

"What are you drawing?" Camille asked as she continued on painting her nails.

"Just some penguins."

Camille laughed. "Penguins? Kind of random isn't it?"

"I draw penguins all the time. Don't know why, I just do."

"We all have our niches. I used to draw fruits all the time."

"I didn't always draw them though, just been drawing them lately."

"Maybe it's a sign. Like you know how they say your dreams have meaning? Maybe your drawings mean something."

"And what do you suppose penguins mean?"

"You're cold."

Sophia laughed. "You're an idiot." She spoke laughing more.

"It could be true! Do you have socks on? Do you need a blanket wrapped around your arms while you draw?"

"While you're very considerate, I'm okay. Surprisingly enough, I'm not cold." She said.

"Well okay, suit yourself." She spoke and picked up the drink she made for herself, taking a sip out of it.

"The game is in 2 days, are you excited?"

"Hardly, I'm really nervous about it."

"Why?"

"Because Elizabeta is running for homecoming queen, and I could actually lose."

"What? You losing against Elizabeta? I doubt it. Your campaign's been great, you're much more popular than her, and prettier, people are going to make sure you win."

"I don't know, I'm still on the fence. I don't even know why she's running to begin with, she's not even into this kind of stuff."

"Lili probably convinced her to run. She did some of her posters for her campaign after all." Sophia spoke with a shrug.

Camille gasped. "She did? Rather bold of Lili." She said.

"Yeah I know. I was just as surprised."

"I can't even lie, Lizzie does a damn good job at her job, which is probably why she's so good at campaigning. She's kept ZNu afloat this well, as good as I have for KM."

"If she kept ZNu up as good as you kept up KM they'd have a house like ours by now."

"Very true." She said with a nod. "But she hasn't smarted up to how to play the game."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she doesn't know what it takes to get ahead. I do. I have the brains, connections, and money to keep Kappa Mu on top. But if she keeps thinking with her heart instead of her head she'll get no where. Greek life is a strategic game played among the E-boards of different sororities and fraternities, and you have to play right. It's like 'Game of Thrones' but like, without the killing."

"Game of Greeks."

Camille burst into laughter, snorting as she laughed. She covered her mouth. "See, that's how you know I'm drunk. I always snort when I laugh." She said picking up her drink. "But, you get what I'm saying right?"

Sophia nodded slowly. She had never thought of it like that. It was so much more that went into Greek life that she didn't even know about. Crazy. She closed her sketchbook and picked up her drink. "Sounds like a stressful life."

She shrugged. "It is, but I'm used to it. I think you'd be good at it too Sophia. You and I are very alike, we're headstrong, and go for the things we believe in. You'd make a good player on the E-board."

"You think?"

"You're talking to the president here, of course I think you'd do well. A lot of girls graduating this year are on the E-board, you should apply for a position next semester."

Sophia hadn't really thought of that. Being on the executive board for Kappa Mu. It sounded like a challenge honestly, but she was up for it. "I'll take you up on that offer."

"Great. I'll keep you updated on everything. But in the meantime, I've got more pressing issues at hand with homecoming."

"You're going to be fine Camille. All of your worrying is for nothing. You're going to win."

"Maybe you're right...But if I knew a way to keep her from running, I would do it, just to make myself feel a little better."

Sophia swirled her drink around in her cup before gasping. "I just had the best idea ever."

.

.

.

Sophia pulled the door of McCall hall open, and led Camille in behind her. She looked around, smiling some. "I stayed in McCall my first year too. It was nice, but I didn't like staying in dorms too much. That's why I say at KM now." She spoke.

"It's nice living here, but I'm just a freshman, what do I know?" Sophia said with a giggle, and started her way up the stairs with Camille close behind. She went up to her room, unlocking the door and pushing the door open. "You want to see how I got my dues?"

She nodded.

Sophia pushed the bathroom door open, and turned on the light. She showed Camille the set up they still had from making moonshine. "We sold moonshine to pay for our dues."

Camille looked at the items in wonder. "You and Lili did?" She asked. "Wow, that's totally badass. Illegal, but badass." She spoke. "You know how to make moonshine?"

"Yeah, Lili handled the money. But we figured that since we've paid our dues that we'd just sell all the stuff back, but since we're not friends anymore...Haven't seem to have gotten around it."

"Well you should sell this stuff so you won't get in trouble Sophie."

"Well see that's apart of my best idea ever Camille." She said and put her hand on top of the still. "If her room is open, we put this stuff in Elizabeta's room, call UPD, and let her take the blame for it. She definitely won't win homecoming queen then, and there won't be any proof that it's ours. Win-win."

Camille's eyes widened. "Sophie that's really bad...She could get expelled for that."

Sophia scoffed. "Like you care."

"I don't, let's do it." She said with a giggle.

Sophia grinned and went over to Elizabeta's room. She knocked on the door, no response. She knocked again louder. Still no response. Her hand went to the door handle, and she pushed the door open. No sign of Elizabeta. She grinned turning on the lights and made her way back over to her room. "The coast is clear. Let's start moving the stuff over."

Once Sophia was done moving all of the evidence over, she reconnected it so it looked like it had been used instead of just put in a room. "There, all done."

Camille put a hand on her head, looking at her handy work. "Man, and I thought I was good, obviously you're better. You definitely deserve a spot on the E-board now."

Sophia looked over at Camille. "Now nothing can stand in your way of winning now."

Camille leaned over and hugged her tightly. "Thanks Sophia, you really are my sister."

* * *


	31. Chapter 31

**Thursday**

Lili bounded up the stairs to get to her dorm room. It was time to trade out clothes in her duffel bag with some clean ones. With all this backpacking she was going to have to do laundry soon. She was usually really good about it, but it was all starting to build up in her clothes hamper.

"That isn't my stuff! I'm innocent!" She heard Elizabeta scream down the hall.

Lili quickly pulled the door open to her hall, and witnessed as Elizabeta was being escorted out of her room by University police. She ran down to them. "Lizzie? What happened? What's going on?" She asked.

"Someone's framing me. There's a bunch of stuff in my room that isn't mine." She spoke quickly as the police handcuffed her, and started leading her down the hall. "Tell Roderich for me! He's always in the Fine Arts building, but he stays in Roody hall 3308! Lili you know I didn't do this! Please fix this!" She yelled after her. They went through the door, and she was gone.

Lili wasn't sure if she was more concerned or confused. She went over to Elizabeta's room, looking around. She looked in the bathroom, finding their still, burner, fermenting jugs, everything set up in Elizabeta's room. "Oh no." She whispered to herself backing away from the evidence. "No, no, no, no." She repeated sliding down the wall and burying her face in her hands. What had she done? How did this happen? If she was only a little more careful then Sophia wouldn't have found her coming out of her room. And how could Sophia do something like this? This wasn't Sophia.

She angrily brushed away her tears, and stood. Lili went over to her room, and unlocked the door. She found Sophia sprawled out on her bed, dead asleep. She put her duffle bag down, and grabbed her covers, pulling them off of her. "Rise and shine sleepyhead. You've got some explaining to do."

Sophia whined as the covers were pulled off of her. She looked over at Lili and turned back over. "I'm too hungover to deal with you, so just grab what you're in here for, and fuck off." She muttered.

Lili then grabbed her legs, and pulled her off of her bed. Sophia screamed when her body came off the bed, and she fell onto the floor with a loud thud. She rubbed her aching head and looked up at Lili. "What the  _fuck_  is your problem?!" She screamed at her.

"You! You're my fucking problem!" She screamed back and leaned down, to grab her pajama shirt. "Would you like to give me a valid reason as to why all of our moonshine stuff is in Lizzie's room?"

"What are you on about? I didn't do—"

"Don't give me that Sophia. What did you do?"

"Well, apparently I put all of our moonshine stuff in her room last night drunk. Sorry." She said with a shrug.

"You idiot!" She yelled at her before letting her shirt go. "I can't believe you did this. I'm so mad at you I could—"

"You could what? Hit me?" She asked standing up. "Please by all means, give me an excuse to put my hands on you." She spoke with a smirk.

Lili looked back at her. "Are you listening to yourself Sophie? This isn't you! I knew you hanging out with Camille wouldn't be good. I told you she's manipulative, and manipulated you into doing something like this! Lizzie's in jail now because of you! She  _used_  you Sophia!"

"Camille is my friend! And she's better than any kind of friend you were!" She said. "She was there for me when you weren't, so watch your mouth talking about her in front of me. Camille is hardworking, and honest. She wouldn't use me to get what she wants, because she works for what she wants. She is my friend, and she is my sister, and I did what I did to help her."

"Well Lizzie's my friend, and what you did was horrible and uncalled for. I was hoping you'd understand, but you just don't. So, I'm done trying to get through to you." She grabbed her backpack. "I'm going to work on getting a new roommate next semester because obviously it was a mistake rooming with you. You can figure out how manipulative she is on your own." With that, she headed out the door.

* * *

After her last class of the day got out, Lili gathered her things to head to the Fine Arts building. On her way out of the building, she got a call from Emil, and she picked up after the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I got your text? Elizabeta's in jail?"

"Yeah Camille got Sophie into putting all of our moonshine stuff in Lizzie's room, UPD arrested her this morning. I'm going over to the fine arts building to tell her boyfriend."

"And what about Sophie?"

"What  _about_  Sophie? She didn't care about doing it. She was glad to do it. Camille has really changed her a lot. She was hungover and barely even remembered doing it, she wanted to fight me this morning, I told her I would look for a different roommate next semester. It hurts so much to see how much she's changed just from hanging out with Camille. She's so much better than her Emi, I wish she could see that."

"I know Lil, but clearly this is something she's got to see for herself, I told you that."

"I know. I just hope in however she sees for herself, she doesn't end up getting hurt."

"Do you want me to take you to see Elizabeta once I'm out of class? I only have one more after this."

"That would be nice, thank you. Just call me when you're out of class."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"See you then."

.

.

.

"Have you seen Roderich anywhere?" Lili asked one of the students walking out of the Fine Arts building.

"Probably in one of the practice rooms. Check there first. If not, music room #3."

"Okay, thank you." Lili headed off, looking for the practice rooms. She looked through the window of each room, stopping when she saw Roderich practicing at a piano. She knocked on the door before pushing it open. "Roderich?" She called.

Roderich looked up, and looked over at Lili. He smiled politely. "Lili, definitely didn't expect a visit from you. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine thank you, but I've come bearing some bad news."

"Oh?"

Lili wringed her fingers anxiously. "Mhmm, Lizzie, she's ah...in jail."

Roderich blinked before shaking his head. "Did I hear you correctly? Did you say Elizabeta's in jail?"

"Yes, I saw them arrest her this morning, and I know it's pretty late in the afternoon to tell you this. I'm honestly surprised you hadn't heard it already from someone else, but she told me to tell you before they escorted her out."

Roderich ran his hands through his hair. "Thank you for telling me Lili. I'm going to go see her." He spoke standing up. "I know you're very close to Eliza as well, so if you'd like to go and see her too, I wouldn't mind taking you." He said.

Lili nodded. "My boyfriend was taking me after he got out of class, but I wouldn't mind going with you. Besides it would be kind of silly to drag him up there too." She said and took out her phone to text Emil that she was going with Roderich to see Elizabeta.

* * *

Elizabeta sat in the holding cell, swinging her feet while she sat on the hard cot. She had been in here all day, the only thing she ate was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and it smelled like sweat and piss.

"Excuse me, my girlfriend is here, Elizabeta Hedervary." She heard Roderich say.

Her head shot up, and she went over to the bars. "Roderich! Roderich back here!" She called.

An officer escorted Roderich and Lili to her cell, and she reached out to her boyfriend. "Oh Roderich I'm so glad you're here." She said as she laced her fingers with his. "You've got to get me out of here. Go to a bail bondsman or something."

"They said they have to hold you for twenty-four hours before we can bail you out. You don't even have a bail right now."

"Ugh, I can't believe this. I can't believe this at all. I hope you know who's behind this, Mr. You're-Just-Being-Paranoid."

"Camille did this?"

"Well ah, it's a little bit of my fault too." Lili spoke. "My roommate doesn't know that she's being manipulated by Camille, and she framed Lizzie with our brewery set in our room."

"It's not your fault Lili. It's Camille, it's all Camille. She used your roommate to get me out of the election, I know she did. But little does she know, that I've got way more dirt on her that could send her to  _prison_."

Lili's eyes widened. "Prison?"

"I've been working in the Greek Life office for the past week. I saw KM's account. She's been stealing money from every event. Every event she pulls out 15% with her initials C.G. There are barely any donations to the charities Kappa Mu's partnered with, and she's been stealing our bids. I couldn't tell you this because I didn't have proof at first, but...you were supposed to be a Zeta Lili."

"What?"

"We bid on you. I made sure that you were bid on. But I didn't have proof that your bid was stolen because we don't have access to those files unless you work in the Greek Life office. Remember when I told you that you just keep smiling to keep the peace? That's what I meant. Camille's really good at playing this Greek Life game, and could make me look like an idiot if I didn't have proof. I'm sorry I lied to you about your bid, I would have told you had you not accepted the Kappa Mu bid. My plan was to go up to the president today to expose her for all she's done, but she beat me to the punch." She said looking around her jail cell.

"What do you want us to do?"

"Can't really do much with me in here. You wouldn't be able to explain why you have those documents from the Greek Life office, I have an alibi. Just come bail me out first thing in the morning."

Roderich brushed his fingers against her knuckles. "How are you holding up jailbird?"

Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "Terrible, jail life is not for me Roddy. I'm hungry, it's smelly, and it's not like I'm in here for a hardcore reason. I felt like if I ever ended up in jail it would be for getting arrested at a protest, not for getting framed for something I didn't do."

"We'll just tell our kids that it was for a protest."

Elizabeta giggled a bit. "You always know what to say to cheer me up."

Roderich looked back at Lili. "I'm probably going to be here longer than what you'd probably want to be here, so if you want me to take you back to campus I will."

"No, no don't bother. You're here with your girlfriend, I'll just call my boyfriend to come and get me." She said with a nod.

"Thank you for coming to see me Lili. I guess you won't see me win that crown from Camille after all."

"It's okay, you're still a queen in my eyes Lizzie." Lili spoke with a grin.

"Aw, you're sweet. You know how to cheer me up too."


	32. Chapter 32

**Friday**

Lili rolled over in Emil's bed, looking at him sleep. She smiled some, man she'd never get over that. She gently shook his arm. "Emi, come on, we have to go up to the jail to bail Lizzie out today."

Emil rolled over. "I'll be up in a minute Lukas." He muttered.

She shook her head. "I'm not your brother, now get up." She said shaking him more.

He gave a long sigh and sat up. He rubbed at his eyes and pushed his hair from his face. "I'm up, now what?" He muttered.

Lili grinned and leaned over to kiss him on his cheek. "Now, we shower and get ready for the day. We've got a lot ahead of us. We have morning classes, we have to bail Lizzie out of jail, go to the homecoming game, confront Camille for being an absolute terrible person, and gloat to Sophia about how I was right about Camille."

Emil shook his head. "Do you have to gloat about how you were right? I don't really feel like breaking up a cat fight, and I'm sure Sebastian wouldn't want to either."

She climbed out of bed and stretched. "Okay, maybe not gloat, but maybe some—" She paused looking at herself in the full length mirror Emil had in his room. She turned to the side, running her hand up her hips. Something wasn't right. The pajama shorts she had on usually fit her a lot better than this. They covered all of her bottom, and they weren't usually this...tight. "Is my...butt getting bigger?" She asked herself and turned forward in the mirror. She gasped. "My hips aren't this big." She spoke as her hands traveled down her hips, which were more spread than they were before.

"So you've got a big butt and big hips, so what?"

"So what? I'm gaining weight, Emil. I'm getting fat, and I'm freaking out." She looked back at the mirror. "I've never really stressed about my body before. I was always really healthy when Vash was around, and then I get to college and start gaining weight. I  _knew_  the freshman 15 was real, oh my God Vash even said 'don't gain weight' and now look at me." She spoke putting a hand on her head.

"You think you're butt and hips are bigger because you're not eating right?"

"Well what else could it be Emi?" She asked sarcastically.

Emil fell back on his bed laughing.

Lili's face flushed. "This isn't funny! Stop laughing Emil!" She yelled.

He climbed out of bed and went to stand behind her. "Let's investigate this weight gain." He said and pulled her arms up over her head. "Your arms are still small." He said and pulled some of the skin from her arm. "Still snaps back like a rubber band."

"I'm fat not wrinkly."

His hands cupped her breasts, and she shakily inhaled when he started to squeeze them. "Your breasts are still small, and still my favorite to squish." He lifted up her shirt and turned her to the side. "Not even a little poke to your tummy, it's still flat, and you still have your permanent four-pack outline."

"You should have seen me as a child, real prominent then. I looked like a mini-body builder."

Emil laughed at that. "Well volleyball, gymnastics, and dancing will do that to you. Lili you're the healthiest eater I know. You fantasize about fruit, you eat salads like it's religion, and you don't even drink soda."

"Okay well if I'm so 'healthy' why are my hips so wide and my butt so big?"

"You really want to know?"

She nodded.

"It from sex, which we have a lot of."

"Here I was thinking you were going to be serious."

"I am serious. Sex is more than just cardio if you're in the right positions, and from the sex we have, you're working out your butt and hips."

"...Really?"

"Mhmm, when we're in missionary your legs aren't in the air, they're spread out. Or when you're on top and you whine about how much your legs hurt afterwards, you're working out and you don't even know it."

Lili thought for a moment before nodding her head. "You know what? You're actually right." She said. "My thighs sometimes hurt  _a lot_  after sex, but it's like a work out hurt, you know?" She asked looking back at him.

He nodded. "So, problem solved."

"Okay, that's fine and everything...but like do I still look okay? Do I look weird with my butt and hips this big?"

"Lil, you went from a grape to a peach, I'm not complaining at all. Plus, these are very nice hips to hold." He said as his hands traveled down to her hips.

Lili smirked some. "Your hands on my hips, my hands on the headboard, you admiring my newly formed 'peach' as you...are you poking my back?"

"There's some poking going on but it's definitely not from my hands."

* * *

Lili and Emil walked into the the lobby of the jail, asking for Elizabeta. When they were escorted to the back, they found Roderich already there, and Elizabeta swinging her legs back and forth as she sat on the cot in her jail cell.

"Hey Lizzie, we got here as soon as we were out of class. Any word on your bail?" Lili asked.

Elizabeta stood up going over to the cell door. "They're still processing it, they should be done soon though." She replied.

"That's good. How was it spending the night? It wasn't too bad was it?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't too bad. They gave me some soup to eat for dinner, and a blanket with a pillow to sleep. I didn't sleep too well though last night."

Lili winced some. "That's pretty rough. Do your girls know you're here?"

"Yeah, Roderich told Bella, Bella told the girls. They're waiting on me to come home as we speak. And also my best friend—"

"Elizabeta Hedervary?"

Elizabeta looked over, finding one of the officers with her papers. "Bail's been processed. It's going to be $550. Soon as you get that we'll process it, and once it's posted you'll be free to go."

Elizabeta winced. "$550? Jesus Christ I get framed for something I didn't do and  _I_  have to pay to fix the mess? I swear to God when I get out Camille is going—"

"Assault isn't going to help your case, Hedervary." The officer spoke and gave Roderich the papers.

"Charged with possession of alcohol paraphernalia on university campus." He read. "Well you have a court hearing in November if you want to dispute the case."

She sighed sitting back down on the cot. "Would it even be worth it though? I'm going to be paying bail to get out of here anyways, the only thing I'm really losing here is money."

"Well if it makes you feel better, I have some money to contribute to your bail." Lili said as she went through her wallet to pull some money out.

"I'm sure I've got a couple of twenties in the car." Emil said next.

Roderich looked in his wallet. "I'll have to go and get some money out of an ATM."

Elizabeta thought for a minute. "Or I can just use the money I have saved up for my apartment?" She suggested. "That'll cover the whole bail."

Roderich frowned. "No, you're not using the money you worked so hard in saving Eliza. It's not worth it and I'm not going to let you do it."

"It's fine Roderich, really. It's not a big deal, I'll just put it off until next year."

Lili looked back at Elizabeta. "You were planning on getting an apartment?"

"Yeah, that was another reason why I was working as an RA. If I worked for a semester, I'd have the money I needed for the deposit, and first month's rent." She spoke proudly.

"But she can't do that if she's going to use it towards her bail, which she isn't." Roderich spoke next.

"Roderich I've got to get out of here. The game starts at 4, and it's almost 2. We don't have money for bail, I know it's going to take  _forever_  for it to post, and if Camille wins homecoming queen before I'm out of here I will literally keel over and die."

Roderich rolled his eyes. "You're going to get out of here. Believe me. And stop being so dramatic, you sound like—"

"Aw sweet I made it before you bailed Liz out."

Everyone looked back, finding a man with silver hair and crimson eyes walking up.

"Gilbert!" Lili, Elizabeta, and Roderich spoke all together.

Lili ran over and hugged her cousin tightly. "What are you doing here?" She asked looking up at him. What was her favorite cousin, of all people, doing here right now?

"Hey Lil. I'm just here supporting my best friend Lizzie. Real question is...what are  _you_  doing here?"

Lili blinked. "Elizabeta's your best friend?"

"Hell yeah she is. I told you I had friends that went to West U."

"Okay but I didn't think your best friend was Elizabeta Hedervary."

"Well that's what happens when your asshole brother moves you away from your favorite cousins, you'd know  _a lot_  more about them if you didn't move." He said and patted her head gently with a small smile and looked past Lili to look at Emil. "Hey...don't know who you are, but you seem cool. Nice hair dude."

"Uh, thanks. I-I'm Emil, Lili's boyfriend." He spoke with a small wave.

"Oh so  _you're_  Emil. Your  _first_  boyfriend, how cool is that Lil?" He asked before grabbing her shoulders. "Are you still a virgin?" He asked her with his eyes narrowed.

Lili's face flushed as she tensed under his gaze. "Uhh…"

"You didn't answer fast enough, oh my God you're not a virgin anymore either?" He asked putting a hand over his chest. "I can't believe it. I can't believe  _you_. You get to college and get all grown up. I'm so proud of you Lil. But you better hope Vash doesn't find out, he  _will_  kill you. I'm surprised he's even letting you date him."

"Well he agreed that I could only date him if we get married."

Gilbert blinked. "Oh my God Vash really is psychotic."

"Gilbert! Focus, we have a big problem." Elizabeta said from her cell.

"Oh right, sorry. But can we talk about how you got my baby cousin wrapped up in this mess of yours too? I told you to watch her, and make sure she doesn't get into trouble."

Lili looked back. "What? Watch me?" She asked. "You knew about me already and didn't tell me?"

"In all honesty I didn't think our paths would cross the way they did." Elizabeta spoke. "But yes, I knew about you, that's why I tried to get you into ZNu, to keep an even closer eye on you. Why do you think you were in my group for rush week? It wasn't coincidental."

"What did you tell him? What do you know?" She asked pointing at Gilbert.

"Relax, I only know everything you've done since you've been on camp."

"Oh my God."

"Oh calm down Lil. It's not like you're doing anything bad. You're not flunking out of school, you're not fucking everything that has a heartbeat, what do I care that you have a boyfriend and get drunk at parties?"

"Again, focus Gil! We need to get me out of here ASAP. Bail is $550, and we need all the money we can get to get me out of here."

"Okay, I'll help put some money on your books Liz, we're gonna get you outta here as soon as we can." He spoke before shaking his head. "Man, I knew something was fishy about Camille. I never liked her, especially when Roderich started dating her. I should have picked up Nat. She definitely would have beat her up for getting you into jail." He spoke with a nod.

Elizabeta couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Yeah Natalya is…something else. But, if we could get at least half of bail between all of us, Bella can pool some money from my girls to get the other half."

"Sounds like a plan, I'll call Bella now so she can start on that." Roderich spoke pulling out his phone.

.

.

.

Bella soon came to join the party about two hours later, waving at everyone politely before pausing. "Gil, what are you doing here?"

"Well my best friend is in jail, and I had to see for myself."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry I got here so late, I put the other half of your bail down for you Lizzie. It shouldn't be long until it's posted."

"Ugh I hope not." She said sitting on the cot. She looked at the clock on the wall outside her cell. "The game's started for sure by now. It'll probably be another hour until halftime. It really just depends on when bail is going to be posted."

"We can go back to campus and keep you updated if you want." Lili offered.

"Oh that wouldn't be a bad idea." Elizabeta said. "That would be great if you could do that."

Lili grabbed Emil's hand. "Come on Emil, let's go." She said. "We'll tell you everything that's going on Lizzie!" She called before heading out with her boyfriend.

* * *

Once inside the game, Lili went to find seats with Emil following closely behind with a slushie. They were in the middle of the second quarter. She quickly text her cousin the update of where the game was currently. They still had time, it wasn't much but with all of the technical issues during a game, they should have a good amount of time.

She got a text back from Gilbert. ' _Bail's been posted, we're on the way now with Lizzie._ '

She gave a sigh of relief, that was good news at least.

"You see Camille anywhere?" Emil asked before taking a sip of his slushie.

Lili stood and looked around further up in the stands, lower down in the stands. She shook her head. "No, I don't see them…" She spoke trailing off and stopping when she saw Katie climbing up the stands. "Katie," She called out grabbing her hands, "have you seen Camille?"

Katie stopped, and turned to Lili. "Oh yeah she's in the locker room under the stands. She's getting ready for halftime. Sophie and Lisa are in there helping her get ready too. You can go down there and help her if you want. Or at least I think."

"Okay, thank you so much." She said and grabbed Emil's slushie before heading down the stands.

"Hey! I was drinking that!" He called.

"I'll buy you another one!" She called back and disappeared out the stadium.

Lili sifted through the crowds of people, mobbing at concessions, and formed in lines to the bathroom. Maybe she should have brought Emil to help her look for the locker rooms. She had no idea where she was going, this place was huge, and just her by herself was going to be a lot harder. But she diligently looked for the locker rooms, finding them faster than she thought.

She went into the girl's locker room, going past the bathroom, and into the dressing room, finding Sophia helping Camille get ready, and Lisa typing away on her laptop like a madman. She loosened the top of the slushie. "Camille, I'm so glad I found you." She said walking inside.

Camille looked behind her, hearing Lili's voice. She smiled warmly. "Hey Lili, came to see before halftime?" She asked standing up. "Like my dress?" She asked spinning around in the short white dress.

Lili watched as the dress billowed out as she spun around. "Yeah, it's really cute. You'll look great up there."

Sophia narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't right. "Well we're glad to hear your support, but we've really got to finish getting Camille ready to walk out, it won't be long before she has to go out." She said and started to shoo Lili back out.

Lili walked around her, and back up to Camille. "Oh nonsense, I have the right to be in here just as much as you Sophia." She said. "But, I just wanted to tell you good luck Camille, it's going to be a big win." She said and went to hug her. The drink tilted over in her hand, and blue slushie slid down the President's white dress.

Camille shrieked as cold slushie ran down her shoulder, getting all over her dress. "Oh my God! Lili—!"

Lili gasped. "Oh my God, Camille I'm so sorry!" She said putting the drink aside. "I'm such an idiot, I'm so, so sorry!"

Sophia clinched her fists. "Bullshit you did that on purpose!" She yelled.

"No I didn't!"

"Sophia, accidents happen. This is why we brought the other dress." Camille said putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

Lisa stood from her chair. "Here, let me help you out those wet clothes."

"Well actually I'm wet and sticky now, so I actually need to wipe off. Lili do you mind helping me wipe off? They have some towels in the locker room." Camille spoke grabbing her bag with the second dress in it.

"Of course, come on." She said and walked out with Camille in tow.

Lisa started collecting her things. "I forgot something back in my room, I'm going to head back there really quick."

Sophia looked at her strangely. "You're taking all of your stuff though?"

"I'm just taking it back now so I won't have to come back to get it after the game."

"Oh that makes sense." She spoke nodding.

Lisa quickly packed away on her laptop and slung it over her shoulder. She grabbed her keys. "Goodbye Sophia. It's been nice." She said.

Sophia blinked. "Uh, yeah, it's been nice."

With that, Lisa made her way out the emergency exit and off into the growing darkness.

Lili pushed the door open to the locker room, and looked around for some fresh towels. She couldn't find any. "Hey Camille, where are—?" Her question was cut off by a yelp from being shoved into the lockers. Her breath hitched when her body hit the metal lockers, and her head slammed against one of the locks on the lockers. She suddenly felt dizzy, and like she was losing consciousness. Her body hit the ground.

"Do you think I'm fucking dumb?!" Camille screamed at her and stood over her. Camille bent down to her. "I tried being nice to you Lili, I even tried letting you in, but you've just been doing more harm than help."

Lili sat up some, holding her head. "You're a bad person Camille, you're manipulative and a liar. You used my roommate to put Lizzie in jail, you stole money from KM, you stole bids, and you don't even make monthly donations to the charities we're partnered with." She muttered.

Camille pushed her chest back down. "Oh please, I'm hardly that. Okay, well I am, but who knows that? And who is  _ever_  going to know that? You don't have proof. And plus it's not like  _I'm_  the one doing it, why do you think I have Lisa with me all the time? She helped me with a lot of it really. With her computer skills, tapping into the system to move money, move bids, you name it, she can do it. But since she's graduating this semester, I needed someone to take her place. Instantly I thought about having you by my side, but you were too pure to corrupt. But, didn't take me much time to find my next assistant, she pretty much came to me after all."

Lili moved to sit back up.

Camille pushed her back down again, using more force. "Bright eyed Sophia James, your roommate. Didn't take much to corrupt her. But then again, she'd die for KM if she had to. I gotta hand it to her though, she's making me queen because of what she did. Now she can really take one for the team. And once little Lizzie's out of jail, and try to blame me for it, there won't be any proof. Why? Because eagar Sophie did all the work herself, with her bare hands. And you know what that means, bare hands mean fresh fingerprints."

Lili's eyes widened. "You wouldn't—!"

Camille grabbed the towel out of the bag, and pulled out the extra dress as well. She dried off the sticky drink as she spoke. "Oh but I would Lili. If it meant getting myself out of trouble, yeah, I would. And like always, I'll just patch up all the holes later. You've still got a lot to learn here at West U Lili, and crossing me will be what you learn not to do. So you're going to keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it for you." There was a loud horn that sounded from outside. Camille stood and pulled off the soiled dress and pulled on the clean dress. "That's my cue to go win my crown. Too bad you won't be there to see it, but I'll tell you all about it come the next chapter meeting." She leaned back down to Lili. "Take a nap Lili, you deserve it." With that she gripped Lili's shoulders, pulled her body up, and slammed her back down, making her hit her head against the concrete ground. Camille stood up, laughing menacingly as she walked away from Lili's unconscious body.

.

Sophia heard the horn go off from the dressing room. "Hm, maybe she already went out to the field with Lili already." She thought aloud as she grabbed her phone and started her way out. She went through the bathroom and locker room, stopping when she saw someone passed out on the floor. "Oh my God!" She screamed running over to find the someone to be her roommate. She dropped down next to her, holding her up. "Lili! Mate! Come on, please wake up!" She spoke shaking her roommate.

Lili had took a few moments to come to before her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Do you believe me about Camille now?" She muttered.

Sophia quickly brushed her tears away looking at her roommate. "I can't believe she did this to you." She said. "Come on, let's try to get you some help." She spoke and turned away from her. "Hop on."

Lili reached for her shoulders, and shuffled to move onto Sophia's back.

Sophia stood, securing Lili on her back and walked out of the locker room.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Western University's 2017 Homecoming!" The announcer said over the intercom. "Tonight we have our results of our homecoming king and queen. There has been a change in program, as there has been a change in nominees. The nominees are as follows: Our Kings, we have Alfred F. Jones. Alfred is apart of Sigma Nu, Kappa Delta chapter here at West U. His goal is to be everyone's hero, and works to accomplish that by being in numerous clubs and organizations. If he is crowned homecoming king, he vows to work diligently to keep everyone at West U happy and content. Alfred Jones everyone." With that Alfred waved at everyone in the crowd, and the crowd replied with cheers.

"Next nominee, we have Francis Bonnefoy. Francis is the president of the French Honor Society, and plays a big role in our culinary arts program here at West U. If he is crowned homecoming king, he vows to make sure West U is known as one of the top universities with the best food. Francis Bonnefoy everyone." With that, everyone cheered and clapped for Francis as he blew kisses to the audience.

"Next our queens, we have Camille Grimaldi."

Before the announcer could even give any information about Camille, the crowd roared with cheers.

"Camille is president of Kappa Mu, Gamma Tau chapter at West U. She's very active in the community, and works to put others first before herself. When she's not running the busy Kappa Mu or giving back to the community, she's busy perfecting her violin skills. If she is crowned queen, she vows to do what she does best: put others first and strive for another great year at Western University. Camille Grimaldi everyone."

"We love you Camille!" The Kappa Mu girls screamed from the stands. Camille blew kisses to her girls and waved at everyone else in the crowd.

"Due to recent circumstances, Elizabeta Hedervary has been removed from this year's homecoming court."

Sounds of booing came from the crowd. And signs of #FreeLizzie went up in the air from the Zeta Nu girls.

Camille rolled her eyes at the signs. "Ugh, could they please just get on with this?" She murmured under her breath.

"And our last and final nominee, Michelle Friar."

The Seychellois girl smiled brightly as she heard applause from others in the crowd.

"Michelle is a sister of the Alpha Tau Epsilon, Delta Lambda chapter and soprano section leader of the chamber choir here at West U. She is very active on campus, and plans to stay that way if she is crowned homecoming queen. She vows to listen to her fellow colleagues in making plans about what is needed to better the university as a whole. Michelle Friar everyone."

"The results are in everyone. The moment you've all been waiting for. First our king. The winner for this year's 2017-2018 homecoming king is...Alfred F. Jones!"

The crowd screamed with cheers and applause as a crown was placed on Alfred's head.

"Anything you'd like to say Alfred?" One of the announcers on the field asked.

Alfred took the microphone. "Uh, I just want to say thanks for all the votes, pretty cool of you guys. And the hero, which is me, will prevail. So get ready for a great year with me as king. Thank you!" He said and threw up a peace sign for everyone in the crowd.

"And now for our queen. The winner for this year's 2017-2018 homecoming queen is...what?"

Camille narrowed her eyes and looked up towards the press box above the stands. "What?' What do you mean 'what?' 'What' is  _not_ my name."

The field announcer put a hand on her ear. "Okay, copy that." She whispered away from the mic. "...It appears that Camille Grimaldi is also ineligible for winning the crown this year. So by default this year's homecoming queen goes to Michelle Friar!"

Screams of both cheering and booing came from the audience.

"We want Camille! We want Camille!" The Kappa Mu girls screamed from the crowd.

"So Michelle, anything you'd like to—"

Camille quickly snatched the microphone out of the announcer's hands. "Um, excuse me? Hi, I'd like some information as to how I'm ineligible for winning? Because last time I checked, which was literally a minute ago, I wasn't."

Soon, a man walked out on the field with Elizabeta in tow.

Camille winced and ran over to him, putting a hand on his arm as she walked with him. "Dr. Kirkland, just the man I wanted to see." She said smiling nervously. "It seems to be a problem—"

"Yes there is a problem, and it is you." He said moving away from her touch, and showing her the printed papers. "It's been brought to my attention that the work you've done with Kappa Mu is dishonest, and distrustful. You've stolen bids from other sororities, you've stolen money from the account to put in your personal account, and you've not been keeping up with your monthly donations to the charities you're partnered with."

"And not to further worsen the news," Sophia started as she made her way into the crowd on the field, "but she kind of beat my roommate until she was unconscious too." She said turning around to show the half awake Lili on her back.

Elizabeta gasped. "Oh my God Lili!" She exclaimed going over to Lili to help her. "Lili? Hey, are you okay?" She asked her.

Lili slowly lifted her head up from Sophia's shoulder. "Lizzie?" She murmured.

"Battery of another student, good to know. Get some help for the girl, and handcuffs for Miss Grimaldi."

Camille's eyes widened as her hands were grabbed and put behind her back. "Wait! It wasn't me! Well it technically wasn't me, Lisa Washington helped me with everything. She's at fault as well!" She said.

"Get a search warrant for Lisa Washington, but you're still not safe from your arrest Miss Grimaldi. Now anything else I have to clean up before we can continue tonight's game?"

Elizabeta looked back. "Ah well, I was framed with a brewery set in my room to keep me from being homecoming queen."

"Do you know who could have done this Miss Hedervary? Because if not then we're doing a full investigation of it."

Sophia's heart sank. "Well—"

"That was me as well sir." Camille spoke quickly. "I put the brewery set in Elizabeta's room to keep her from winning homecoming queen. We had the set lying around from a past party Kappa Mu had thrown."

" _And_  planted evidence?" Dr. Kirkland questioned before shaking his head. "Well I've definitely heard enough tonight. You've caused a lot of trouble for yourself, and for your sorority, and I hope it was worth it. Arrest her for now, and we will continue on with the game." Dr. Kirkland spoke and walked off the field with Sophia, Elizabeta, and Lili behind him.

* * *

Emil pushed past the EMT workers to get to his girlfriend. He ran over to the ambulance, where he found Lili wrapped up in a blanket, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. "Oh my God, I'm so glad you're okay." He said throwing his arms around her.

Lili quickly hugged him back, holding him tightly. "I know you are, I'm sorry I worried you Emil. But I'm okay, really."

"Lili no you aren't, you're in the shock blanket."

"Okay I have a concussion, and a really big bump on the back of my head. But other than that, perfectly fine."

"They said she'll live. She just needs to rest and have someone watch her over the next couple of weeks." Sophia chimed in.

"Yeah that's what they said. Sophia hadn't left my side since she found me." Lili said looking over at her.

Sophia looked back at Lili before looking away. "You have every right to be angry with me. You have every right to never speak to me again, and get a roommate that'll treat you a lot better than I did. But, I just want you to know that, I couldn't stop thinking about you ever since we stopped being friends. My sketchbook is filled with dumb penguins because of you. And I never meant for you to get hurt at all, and seeing you hurt, hurt me a lot. I don't know what came over me. I guess I just finally felt like I belonged somewhere, and it was a good feeling, despite the bad things I did. I'm really sorry Lili. Sorry for not considering that you're a person with your own feelings, and you don't always have to do the things I want to do. I hope that maybe one day you'll forgive me."

Lili looked back at Sophia. "I figured I couldn't stay mad at you after carrying me on your back like a war hero. I thought that was pretty nice of you...I missed sharing a room with you, and you calling me 'Mate,' and having dinner with both you and Emil. I know spending time with you meant a lot to you, and I'm sure anyone would feel abandoned from going to doing absolutely everything together, to finding other things to do. I'm sorry I wasn't as considerate as I could have been."

Sophia held her hand out. "Friends?"

Lili held her pinky out. "Sisters."

Smiling, Sophia wrapped her pinky around Lili's and pressed her thumb against hers.

"Sisters."


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter. I don't know if I'll do an epilogue, I would like to though. Or maybe a squeal, but again, that takes a lot of time and thinking. But I do know, that I want to write another IceLiech in the future because wtf they need more love and I have fallen in love with them to be honest, and I want to write something very them related, and I may rework some things that I've wanted to write in the past. It's just a lot to think about now, but expect more IceLiech in the future from me. So happy reading everyone!

Sophia pushed her dorm room door open, finding Lili in bed on her laptop. She smiled some, she was glad things were back to normal, or at least getting there. They spent their Sunday moving back into their room, talking, joking, and finally enjoying each other's company once more.

"Hey Mate," She greeted taking her backpack off. "How's your head?"

Lili closed her laptop. "Emil said it's pretty good, I have to work on swallowing."

Sophia's eyes widened. "Oh my God—"

"He told me to tell people that when they ask me about it. He probably thinks I have no idea what it means, but I know."

"And you've been telling people that?"

Lili scoffed. "Of course not, why would I tell  _anyone_  that?"

"You just told  _me_  that."

"Well it was still kind of a funny joke Sophie, I had to use it at least once."

Sophia shook her head. "We stop being friends for a while, and it's like I don't even know you anymore." She went to go stand on her ottoman. "You're making sex jokes now?"

"I mean it when I say I was only hanging out with Emil when you weren't around. He's rubbed off on me in the worse way."

"I can tell." She said reaching behind Lili's head to feel the bump on her head. Lili winced some at the touch. "Swelling's gone down some. Are you hungry?"

"Mhmm, we can go get some lunch after Emil gets out of class."

"Great." She said hopping on the bed. "So, last time we gossiped was when you lost your virginity?"

"Yes, and now I've been having so much sex my butt and hips are getting bigger."

"You are having a laugh,  _that_  much?"

Lili sat up more in her bed so she could rest her head on the wall. "I'm ashamed to say it, but I'm a little glad we're not in the same room anymore. He always gets me, and I can never tell him no. He starts to kiss my neck, and squish my breast, and call me 'Sweets' and I just melt in the boy's arms every single time." She spoke before groaning. "He's so good at it, and I hate that he's so good."

"Well you know what that means."

"What?"

"You gotta get him back."

"Actually I'm getting good at getting him too." Lili spoke proudly.

"What do you do?"

"I sit on his lap and pout until I get what I want."

Sophia nodded. "You've done it Lili, you've become the epitome of a spoiled girlfriend."

* * *

"Sophie, fancy seeing you sitting with us during lunch." Emil spoke as he watched Sophia and Lili sit down at the table.

"Back like I never left." She said with a grin.

"And Lili, how's your head?"

"Still working on the swallowing."

Emil chuckled. "That's my girl."

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe you've poisoned my roommate's mind with your dumb jokes. You're the absolute worse."

Emil shrugged. "She thought they were funny…once she understood them."

"I'm tired of being known as 'Innocent Lili.' Even Camille told me I was too pure to corrupt. I'm in college, and honestly with everything that's happened to me from just being here, I  _really_  shouldn't be as innocent as I am. Why can't I just be 'Nice Lili', or 'Okay Lili'?"

"Well if you're so pegged on being different, maybe you should make a physical change. You feel different if you look different." Emil said.

"And what do you suppose I do?"

"You could change your hairstyle. Dye your hair?" Sophia offered.

"I have often thought what it would be like if I were a brunette." Lili thought aloud before shaking her head. "No, if I miss my blonde hair I'd have to bleach my hair back and I'm not up for damaging my hair."

"Get something pierced?"

"The rebellious side of me would love to get her belly button pierced. But Vash would  _kill_  me."

Sophia thought more. "Wear glasses?"

Lili thought for a minute. "Sounds reasonable, but I don't know about the commitment. Putting them on everyday? I barely remember to grab my phone and keys in the morning."

"Well maybe something physical isn't the best way to go," Emil started, "so maybe you should be involved in something. People get recognition for things all the time. You're an athletic person. Get back into sports."

"But the volleyball season is already underway."

"I was actually thinking gymnastics. That's a spring sport."

A slow smile creeped up on her face. "I used to feel like electric on the floor, I'd love to have that feeling again." Gymnastics had been a big part of life as much as volleyball was. She missed doing floor exercises, and the cute leotards, and Vash cheering her on at meets. Gymnastics just gave her the feeling of possibility. Anything was possible out on the floor, and maybe she needed that feeling again. "When does conditioning start?"

"Whenever it does, I'll be sure to tell you." Emil said.

"I always thought gymnastics was a very lovely sport," Sophia said, "gymnast make it look so easy, and they look so graceful, but you know that it takes a lot of strength to pull off those difficult combinations of somersaults. It's a respectable sport too."

"Yeah you'll get a lot of recognition from doing it. You'll be known as 'Gymnast Lili' in no time."

Lili looked at her boyfriend for a moment. "You know, we're always so focused on us, what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah you. You should be involved in something too."

"Now Lili you know me very well at this point, and you should know that I'm very anti-social."

"Come on Emil, you're not going to do anything at all in college? Did you at least do something in high school?"

"I was in Beta Club."

Sophia shook her head. "We were focused on the wrong people the whole time. We haven't even considered Emil's growing process at all."

"I'm tall enough thank you."

Lili giggled. "We mean your transition as a new person."

"Well I'd also like to stay as Emil as well."

"Well okay, you're going to be known as 'Emil' while we're known as 'Gymnast Lili' and 'Sophia from Kappa Mu.'"

"When you could be known as 'Emil from the Newspaper Club."

"Or 'Emil from the Environmental Club."

Emil thought for a moment before shrugging. "I could be apart of Campus Rec. I thought it was pretty cool during my tour and orientation. And they have a lot of nature trips they go on too."

Lili gasped. "That sounds perfect for you Emi! Well that's not really a club, but you could work at the rec center and we'd come visit you every time you worked."

"And go on nature trips together." Sophia chimed in.

"'Emil from the Rec Center?'" Emil offered.

"Yes I know him, his girlfriend is 'Gymnast Lili.'" Lili spoke with a grin.

"Gymnast Lili is a lovely girl. I heard she was best friends with Sophia from Kappa Mu."

Lili couldn't help but laugh. She missed this, and she missed the three of them as friends joking around like this. She pushed her hair back looking at Emil. "So Emil, are you accompanying us to our sorority trial today?"

"Is it not just for greeks?" He asked curiously.

She shook her head. "It's open for students to come sit in, Gilbert's going to be there too. He specifically stayed until Monday so he could come to watch."

"Well if that's the case I wouldn't mind coming to see the fate of your sorority."

"Ugh, I hope it's nothing too bad. I still want to be a Kappa at the end of the day." Sophia spoke.

Lili shrugged. "We'll just have to see what Dr. Kirkland is going to do, but I hope it's nothing too bad either."

"Did you hear about Lisa?"

She shook her head. "No, what about her?"

"She's missing. As in, completely abandoned West U. Her room is cleaned out at the KM house, and no one seen her since the game."

Lili's eyes widened at the news. "What?" She spoke in disbelief.

Sophia nodded. "Yep. Honestly, I think I was the last person to see her before she disappeared. She told me that she forgot something in her room, grabbed all her things, told me it was nice knowing me, and left out the emergency door."

"Crazy."

"Oh yeah, better believe that that's going to the talk of the trial."

Lili looked at the time on her phone. "If we go now, we'll have good seats."

* * *

Lili, Sophia, and Emil walked into the big circular room. Camille sat at a table in the middle of the room, while Dr. Kirkland sat at the head of the room sitting at a raised desk. Three people sat on either side of him, making it a total of seven people sitting at the front of the room.

Because it was mandatory, Kappa Mu girls littered the room. Though there were some people that were just there to be there. As they shuffled through the stands to find open seats, they could hear bits and pieces of passing conversation.

"She doesn't uphold KM values. She deserves to go to jail."

"Kind of weird that she wanted to be queen so bad she framed Lizzie for something she didn't do."

"You think they're gonna disband our chapter?"

"Yeah, what made her think she could get away with hurting another girl?"

"I heard Lisa pinned the whole thing on her. That's why they can't find her."

They managed to find seats next to Gilbert, Elizabeta, and Roderich. "Hey, glad you guys could make it." Elizabeta spoke. "Feeling any better Lili?"

She nodded. "Yeah I'm getting better. Thank you for asking."

"So no offense, but your chapter is kinda fucked."

"Don't joke like that." Lili spoke nudging her cousin's arm.

"Don't listen to him. Granted, the punishment you get isn't going to be good, but it can't be that bad. We don't know what's going to happen, and it's best to not assume the worse."

A gavel slammed down on the stand multiple times, and the room came to a silence. Someone on the end of the panel stood. "College Panhellenic Council Trials Court is now in session. Western University President Dr. Arthur Kirkland presiding."

Dr. Kirkland nodded. "Good afternoon everyone, calling the case of College Panhellenic Council vs. Kappa Mu President Camille Grimaldi. What are our opening statements?"

Another person on the stand stood up. "Camille Grimaldi has been charged with stealing bids from other CPC sororities, embezzling money from the Kappa Mu Gamma Tau chapter account, failure to donate to partnering charities, battery of another student, and planted evidence."

"And where are the exhibits?"

Someone passed Dr. Kirkland a folder down, and he opened it, reviewing all that the folder entailed. Police record of Lili's injury, and the entire Kappa Mu account. "And is there anything the defence would like to say?"

"Yes, have you found Lisa Washington yet?"

Dr. Kirkland looked on either side of his panel, and the one to the right of him stood up. "The one named Lisa Washington is not a student at West U. She does not have records on file, nor existing records."

Murmurs filled the room.

Camille blinked before shaking her head. "Well I know I'm not an idiot, because she's definitely a real person. She's been going here since my sophomore year. I don't understand how she's not in your system."

"It is as simple as that. She has no record of being here. No leasing contract for staying at the Kappa Mu house, she's not on anyone's roster, and she doesn't have a student file here."

She massaged her temples. "So what does that mean? Does everything just get blamed on me?"

"More or less. We can't do much if she isn't a student here, but at the same time we could file a statewide search for her. But if her computer skills are as good as they've proven to be, seeing as she got past our firewalls, tapped into our system, and erased herself from it, she might be well out of the country by now."

Gilbert shook his head. "See this is why you don't get people smarter than you to do your dirty work. They outsmart you, and and leave you out to dry."

"Then you should be careful of Natalya, Gilbert. Wouldn't want her to outsmart you." Roderich spoke glancing at him.

Gilbert looked back at him. "So, who's the one that gets outsmarted between you and Lizzie?"

"You better not say me." Elizabeta said, not taking her eyes off the trial.

Roderich thought of an answer, but shook his head. "You win this one."

Gilbert grinned and stuck his tongue out at him.

"So I can't give you a prison sentence Miss Grimaldi, but I can assure you that you will have one. I do however, control what happens to you as president of Kappa Mu, and Kappa Mu itself. And honestly, I'm angry enough to disband your chapter."

Outcries came from the room, and Camille sunk down in her chair.

"Order!" Dr. Kirkland said as he banged his gavel against the stand. "Order! I need order!" He said and sighed once it was quiet once more. "However, I have reached my verdict. Camille Grimaldi you are hereby expelled from Western University. And as for Kappa Mu, one year suspension. And under suspension, the chapter is not allowed to rush, bid, recruit, stroll, or participate in any other greek life activities other than reply to roll call."

Murmurs filled the room again.

Sophia sat back in her seat sighing. "Well, here's to a boring rest of the year for KM."

"Along with suspension, Kappa Mu will be granted a release of contract from Kappa Mu in order to make up stolen bids. If one wishes to go through with the release then she will be allowed to rush in the spring along with a refund of dues. Trial adjourned." With that he slammed the gavel onto the stand, and the trial was over.

The group stood up, and Gilbert stretched. "Well, your chapter wasn't as fucked as I thought. One year suspension is way better than disbanding the chapter."

"I honestly thought you guys were going to get more than one year. I'm surprised." Elizabeta said next.

Sophia turned to Lili. "Hey, you mind if I go talk to Camille for a moment?"

Lili shrugged. "Go ahead, we'll wait for you."

Sophia nodded and went down to where Camille was standing, surrounded by other KM girls. She pushed her way through, and stopped in front of her. "Hey."

"Hey."

Sophia looked away for a moment before looking back at her. "I uh, just wanted to say thanks for covering for me on Friday about the…thing."

She shrugged. "I may have used you, but you were actually my friend Sophie. I really liked hanging out with you, and I almost feel bad that I used you."

Sophia looked at her strangely. "Thanks, I guess?" She shook her head. "Do you think you'll hold up well in prison?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm hoping it be like  _Orange Is The New Black_. They make prison look fun."

She giggled at that. "You'll certainly have an interesting background as to why you're in prison."

Camille looked up at her, and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. "If there comes a time we cross paths again, I'll be sure not to use you next time."

Sophia hugged her back. "That sounds promising. Goodbye Camille."

"Goodbye Sophia."

Sophia pulled away from her. "And just so we're clear," Sophia slammed her foot down on top of Camille's. Camille shrieked, nearly collapsing on the floor from the pain. "That was for my roommate. You made a big mistake putting her hands on her. The next time you want to put your hands on her, you can answer to me." With that Sophia turned on heel and back up to where everyone was waiting on her.

"I heard Camille scream, what did you do?" Lili asked.

"I stepped on her foot. I couldn't break her nose like I wanted to, but I figured almost breaking her foot would have to do."

"But you hugged her? Aren't you still friends with her?"

"I mean, I was thankful for her covering for me, and I would have considered being her friend after all of this...until she put her hands on you. That, Lili, is the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Well I'm glad someone got her back for what she did to Lili." Elizabeta said.

"Could have been a lot more done in my opinion, but she's going to jail so I can't be too upset. This weekend was weird, but still really awesome. Definitely awesome that I got to see my best friend and favorite cousin, but I should get back on the road to get back to school." He said and hugged his best friend first, kissing her cheek.

Elizabeta smiled at him. "Thanks for coming to visit me in jail."

"I wasn't gonna miss that. It made the drive worthwhile" Gilbert then turned to Roderich.  
"It's never a pleasure seeing you." He said holding out his hand.

Roderich shook his hand. "I wish you'd leave faster."

With a nod Gilbert turned his cousin. "Never would have thought your first year of college would start off like this huh?"

Lili shook her head. "Not even in the least bit, but I'm still here."

"That's the spirit, you've got a lot more to go through Lil, but it's a good thing you've got some pretty awesome people around you." He said looking at Emil and Sophia. "Now remember, don't embarrass me while you're here, I'll personally embarrass you further if you do." He said tapping her nose.

She wrapped her arms around her cousin. "Come visit more often. I miss you too much."

Gilbert hugged her back. "I will. And just so you know, conditioning starts first week of November, so you better get your act together, Gymnast Lili." He said patting her head.

Lili pulled away from him. "How do you—?"

"Lizzie and Roderich are the only one's  _you_ know that are watching you here on camp, trust me I've got a lot more eyes than just those two." He said with a wink before looking past her to look at her friends. "Awesome job you guys are doing with her, I'm glad she's not dead. But," He said and narrowed his eyes and pointed at the two separately, "if you break her heart, I'll kill you." He told Emil then pointed at Sophia. "And if you fall out with her again, I'll kill you too." Then he straightened up and smiled at everyone. "Okay, that's it, Awesome Gil is out." He said and threw up waved before taking his leave.

Elizabeta turned to Lili. "So, I heard you've got the opportunity for release of contract...Willing to come over to the dark side?"

"I don't think it can get any darker than KM."

"Hey." Sophia said nudging her.

"Sorry, but rushing again next semester to join Zeta Nu sounds like a good idea, but on one condition."

"What?"

"You'll be my big."

Elizabeta put a hand on her chest. "Ugh it's like you stabbed me with a love sword. Of course I'll be your big Lili."

Lili went over to give her a big hug. "Thanks for watching over me, I finally understand now why I felt like I was talking to my cousin the day of inspections. I can't wait for next semester."

"You'll be in your rightful home."

Lili pulled away from her and went to Sophia. "Hey Mate."

"It's not as nice when you said compared to when I say it." She spoke shaking her head. "So, you're leaving me to live out your dream of being a Zeta, eh? Figures."

"Oh stop your whining, you can have my apparel stuff,  _except_ my seersucker shorts." She leaned in close to Sophia. "Those are Emi's favorites." She whispered to her.

Sophia gagged. "Please stop." She said holding her stomach.

Lili giggled at her reaction. "I couldn't help it...Rushing won't be the same without you, especially now that I'm doing it a second time. But even if there's a suspension for the year, I wish you the best in your journey in KM. I heard the'll be needing a new president soon, and rush chair, so keep your eyes peeled for the positions."

"You've made my transition to KM a smooth one, thank you Lili for doing it with me. I guess it didn't take Camille to make me feel like I belonged, I think what it really took was me realizing who my real friends are. And you're more than my friend Lili, you're my sister, no matter the sorority."

And with that, they gave each other a warm embrace.

When Lili pulled away, she looked over at her boyfriend. "And I'll miss you the most, Scarecrow." She said putting her hands in his.

Emil smiled at Lili. "I've just got one question for you Lil."

"And that is?"

"Can we go to the fucking aquarium now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is where GBKM ends...for now? I don't know still, but I feel so honored that so many of you liked this and I got so many reviews on this story on FF.Net, and I appreciate the comments and kudos on AO3! Like every other thing I write, it's become my baby. I love this story, and I'm glad you all did too. I hope to bless y'all with more IceLiech in the future if y'all liked it so much. I thank you all for the support, thank you for reading, and thank you for comments and kudos. Until next time everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> And to clear up any confusion I usually use Wy as someone close in age to Liechtenstein, even if in the anime/manga she's like a child similar to Sealand. But I usually just up her age to kind of help give Liechtenstein a 'best friend' component to the story. I hope you all liked it. I think people use kudos instead of reviews on AO3? So please do that lol see you guys next chapter!


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